Menispermum canadense

Volume I — Special Symptomatology

(Yellow Parilla. Moonseed.) Botanical Description — This is a climbing plant, growing in various parts of the United States, from the northern boundary to the Gulf of Mexico. The root, or rhizoma, is long, of a yellow color, and a very bitter taste.

Officinal Preparations. — Tincture of the fresh root with strong alcohol; dilutions.

Analogues. — Aletris, Bryonia, China, Cocmlus, Iris, Ignatia, Hydrastis,

Nux vomica, Ptelea, Rheum.

Mind.

Very low spirited, but attends to business with rapidity. Absent minded, but the thoughts were clear. Torpor of the mental faculties, with physical languor. Feels surly, ill-natured, and stubborn. Quick tempered and irritable.

Sleep.

Restless sleep with troubled and confused dreams. Sudden starting from sleep.

Sleep well, but inclined to dream pleasant dreams. Sleeps late and heavy in the morning. Dreams of heavy cannonading.

Dreams of innumerable rats, which creep under my clothing.

Head.

Dull, heavy headache, with a feeling of fullness.

Intense headache, with stretching, yawning and chilliness. Feeling of fullness in the head at night.

Headache, restlessness, and a swollen sensation in the eyes at night.

Headache, with pressure from within outwards, in the morning. Intense headache, feeling as though it would burst, with pain

the whole length of the back. Slight headache in upper frontal region, and through the

temples.

Headache through the temples, extending to the occipital region.

Eyes.

Eyes feel swollen and dry at night.

Nose.

Nostrils feel dry, especially the left, and itches painfully. Painful soreness within the nostrils. 0 Thick yellow mucus, becoming scanty.

Mouth and Throat. Slight coating, of milky appearance on the tongue. Very thirsty.

Tongue coated yellowish-white, with much thirst, and hurried

respiration. Burning sensation of the tongue. Tongue feels raw, as if burned.

Tongue coated yellow, in morning thicker posteriorly, with

raised papillae. Tongue dry and parched.

Tongue coated, all over with a yellowish substance. Throat feels dry and parched. Mouth and throat dry.

Yellow coating on the tongue, thickest at the base.

Tongue much swollen.

(Edema of the fauces, with some inflammation. Excessive discharge of saliva.

Liver.

0 Hypertrophy of the liver. (?)

0 Results of chronic hepatitis. (?)

° Cirrhosis and induration of the liver. (?)

Stomach.

Slight nausea in the morning upon rising. ° Induration of the gastric glands. (?) Increased appetite. Violent vomiting and purging.

Abdomen. Pain in the umbilical region. Tenesmus, but stool natural. Loose, frequent stool.

Urinary Organs.

Urine high-colored, scanty, and hot {secondary). Urine thirty-four ounces, white, with cloud in bottom {primary).

Urine yellow and cloudy, voided thirty ounces {primary). Urine dark yellow and scanty {secondary). Profuse flow of urine {primary). 0 Dropsy, with great debility.

Skin.

Sensation of itching over the whole surface of the body,

aggravated by warmth. Pimples on the face.

Itching of surface, the pimples bleed easily. 0 Syphilis (tertiary). (?) 0 Chronic herpetic eruptions.

Upper Extremities. Aching in the upper arm and in the left scapula. Drawing of the brachialis anticus.

Aching, drawing pain in the shoulder joints, in the region of the scapulae.

Slight, jerking pains near the elbow, probably in the biceps muscle.

Lower Extremities.

Aching, drawing pains in the muscles of the thigh. Aching in the upper part of the left femur, and left hip joint. Legs feel sore, as if bruised, with pain in the bones. 0 Arthritic, and rheumatic complaints.

Circulatory System. Pulse hard and quick. Hurried respiration.

Feverishness at night, with headache and restlessness.

General Characteristics.

Headache and pains resemble those caused by taking large doses of quinine, and were relieved by China 1.

Many of the symptoms resemble those occurring in the different forms of ague.

The headache was relieved by Bryonia, and by walking in the open air. Nearly all the symptoms appeared to be aggravated in the morning. It exerts its influence principally on the salivary and gastric glands.

Great debility in dropsical affections.