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REMEDIAL AGENTS. 79

or spinal irritability, relieve muscular spasm and also pain, and
induce sleep. When administered to relieve pain, they are
termed anodynes ; to induce sleep, they are termed hypnotics or
soporifics.
Narcotics fulfill two indications, namely : Exciting and de-
pressing the nervous energy. For the first it is necessary to
begin with small doses and repeat them frequently ; for the
second, a full dose must be given and not repeated for a consider-
able time. On account of the system becoming very soon
habituated to the action of narcotics, when it is necessary to re-
sort to their use for any length of time the amount must be con-
stantly increased, in order to maintain the same impression. The
difference between the susceptibility to their action when the
body is in a morbid or healthy condition should not be over-
looked. Hypnotics diminish the cerebral circulation by modify-
ing vascular activity.
Under narcotics and hypnotics are classed such agents as
opium and its different preparations, chloral, lactucarium, bella-
donna, stramonium, hyoscyamus, tobacco, lobelia, conium,
aconite, cannabis indica, humulus, camphor, hydrocyanic acid,
aconite, alcohol, chloroform, digitalis, ether, paraldehyde, potas-
sium bromide, sulphonal, urethran, zinc bromide, etc., etc.

ANESTHETICS.
Anaesthetics are medicinal agents which diminish sensibility
and relieve pain. They are generally in the form of vapors or
gases, applied by inhalation, and possess the power of tempo-
rarily suspending the general sensibility, being commonly em-
ployed for the prevention of pain during surgical operations.
They are divided into general and local anaesthetics.
General anaesthetics are agents capable of producing complete
insensibility throughout the whole system. Included in this class
are such agents as ether, chloroform, nitrous oxide gas, bromide
of ethyl, bichloride of methylene, tetrachloride of carbon,
bichloride of ethidene, bromoform, iodide of ethyl, tetrachloride
of carbon, trichlorhydrin, etc., etc.
Local anaesthetics are agents whose action is limited to a cer-