Lolium

Lolium temulentum, L.

Natural order, Graminete.

Common names. Darnel; (G.), Taumel-colch ; (Fr.), Livraie enivrante.

Preparation, Trituration of the seeds.

Authorities {Nos. 1 to d from Both, Mat. Med.). 1, Wierius, de Prsestig. Daemon., iii, viii; 2, Seeger, Diss. de lolio tern., 1710; 3, Burghard, Med. Biles. Sat., 1; 4, Parmentier, Recr. Phys.,ii, 1774; 5, Cholera, Acta erud., Lipsiens, 1723 ; 6, Perleb, Trad. Allem. de De Candle ; 7, Berliner Starts- Zeit., 1821; 8, Hertwig, Nene Bresl. Samtnl.; 9, Rushing, Journ. de Chim. Med., 1844; 10, Schneider, Med. Annals, 1817 (Frank’s Mag., 4, 932), poisoning of thirty-nine children and several adults; 11, Cordier, N. J. de Med., 1819 (Frank’s Mag., 2, p. 151), in order to ascertain whether the seeds were really poisonous I gathered a quantity, crushed them, and made meal into bread, and ate of it; 12, Zeppenfeld, Kasp. Woch., 1835 (Frank’s Mag., 1, 247), poisoning of a large number from eating soup containing the grains; 13, Billing, Zeit. f. Horn. Kliuik, 3, 75, poisoning of a family by bread made from the flour; 14, Dent. Zeit. Starts-Arz., 1864, p. 95, poisoning of a family by bread containing the flour; 15, Either, Mouth. J. of Med. Sc., 1850, p. 180 (Casp. Woch., 1850), the laborers on a farm were poisoned by barley meal, cooked; every tenth grain in the barley was darnel; 16, sa)ne, effects of chewing some of the dry grain ; 17, same, general effects; 18, symptoms, Horn. Times, 2, 558.

Mind p. 623

Emotional, Mania

Slight delirium

Depressed spirits

Depression, great, of spirits

Anxiety

Anxiety and general uneasiness

Intellectual. Mental power blunted

Comprehension difficult, with distraction of mind

Comprehension very slow ’® - Loss of judgment

Loss of understanding, with convulsions,f

Confusion of ideas

Confusion of sense in many cases, but not the most complete delirium

Distraction of mind

Distraction of thought

Stupefaction

Head p. 623

Confusion and Vertigo. Confusion of the head

Vertigo ®' ’®, etc.

Vertigo and sticking in the head

Vertigo so violent that the eyes had to be kept closed

Dizziness

Dizziness, nausea, and loss of speech

Giddiness

Intoxication

Intoxication and dizziness,h

General Head. Heaviness of the head

Heaviness of the head, accompanied with a seated pain, chiefly at the forehead

Pain in head during a whole day

Pain and heaviness in the head

Headache ’®.

Sticking in the head

Violent sticking in the head, especially in the forehead and temples

Eyes p. 623

Pupils greatly dilated

Vision uncertain

Indistinct vision

Dimness of vision ’®.

Obscuration of sight

Blindness, in some cases

Scintillation before the eyes

Ears p. 623

[30.-] Deafness in some cases

Noise in the ears

Tingling in the ears

Roaring in the ears

Roaring and tingling in the ears

Noise in the ears, like a constant sound of drums and cymbals

Nose p. 623

Epistaxis

Face p. 623

Faces very red and hot

The faces of some were pale, of others red and puffy

Conditions p. 623

Tongae. Tongue first white, then black

Tremulous tongue

General 3IontJi. A feeling of burning in the mouth and throat

Sjteech. S23each difficult

Speech very difficult

Many could not speak at all, or very imperfectly

Throat p. 623

Difficult deglutition

He can neither swallow, nor pronounce a whole word

Stomach p. 623

Appetite. Loss of ap])etite

Want of appetite

Eructation Eructations with a peculiar disagreeable taste

3nausea and Vomiting. Nausea

Slight nausea

Sickness

Disposition to vomit

Disposition and efforts to vomit

Woke from sleep with some effort to vomit

Fo??af”®, etc.

Sometimes manifested by nausea, vomiting, inflammatory affection of the gullet, stomach, and bowels, and febrile action

Vomiting; the darnel bread is especially rejected, with much colorless mucus

Repeated vomiting

Vomiting about every half hour all night of portions of bread with colorless mucus, which left a disagreeable taste in the mouth

Violent vomiting

Hard, fatiguing, watery womhmg

Stomach. Uneasiness in epigastrium, with eructations of peculiar taste

Pain at the stomach,®. Pains in the stomach, especially a pressure in the pit of the stomach and abdomen

Violent pain in the stomach and abdomen

Pressure at the stomach

Abdomen p. 623

Distension of the abdomen

Severe colicky pains

Stool p. 623

Severe purging

Diarrhoea, with great colic

Diarrhoea, or else obstinate constipation

TJvh^arid Oi'f/uns

Copious micturition/.

Respiratory Organs p. 624

Difficult breathing/.

Chest p. 624

Sticking pains in the sides/®.

Heart and Pulse p. 624

Small, irregular pulse

Extremities in General p. 624

His gait was unsteady, with trembling of all his limbs; he was unable to hold a glass of water in his hand

Trembling of the lirabs

Spasmodic motions of the arms and legs,^®. Loss of power in the extremities

Superior Extremities p. 624

While attempting to xoritethe hand refused its service and he became stupid (appesanti)

Inferior Extremities p. 624

Objective, As soon as he attempted to rise from a seat he began to stagger, so that he was obliged to steady himself in walking about the room

Staggering about the room, with pale distorted features

Subjective. Great pain and tightness in the legs, especially the calves, extending to the ankles, with redness, swelling, and itching of the skin

Legs excessively tight and painful, swollen and inflamed, and itch much for nine days, followed by a small collection of gelatinous fluid inside foot, terminating in gangrene, followed by sphacelus

Pain and tightness in calves of legs

Violent pain in calves of legs, as if bound with cord.s

Generalities p. 624

Objective. Trembling

General tremors (Sugar)

His whole body trembled

Universal convulsive trembling, with drowsiness, and marked coldness of the limbs

Spasms

Paralysis

Great depression

General lassitude

General weakness

Great weakness

Excessive weakness

So weak and exhausted that he could scarcely talk

[HO.] Debility

General debility

General physical prostration

Prostration of strength, trembling

Was obliged to sit down and rest the head on a table

At other times there are languor, cramps, tremors, paralysis, apoplectic attacks, delirium, and death, sooner or later, according to circumstances

Restlessness

General restlessness

General uneasiness

The noxious qualities of darnel grass partake more of the narcotico-acrid than narcotic character

Torpor ‘®.

For some hours, more or less unfit for work

General malaise, for several days

So ill as to be for some time unfit for their work

General sick feeling

The action of darnel is somewhat analogous to that of ergotized wheat; and both are apt to occur in very wet seasons

Sleep p. 624

Drowsiness

Sleep

Sleep unusually heavy

Somnolency (Sugar)

Sopor,'®. _ Fever.

Great internal chilliness

Cold rigors all over, especially in limbs

Coldness of the extremities

Fever

Cold sweat

Footnotes

† Mr. A. S. Wilson, in Transactions of the Edinburgh Botanical Society for 1874, declares that the poisonous properties of the grains of this grass are due to the ergot (Claviceps purpurea)-which so commonly infests it, and that when care is taken to select perfectly sound kernels they prove absolutely inert. Note also that the cases of poisoning have been more frequently observed In low wet districts and during wet seasons. The symptoms, especially those of paralysis, may be compared with Secale cornutum (Claviceps purpurea).—T. E. A.