noun
definition
Any plant of the genus Digitalis (herbaceous plants of the Plantaginaceae family, including the foxglove, Digitalis purpurea).
definition
A medical extract of Digitalis purpurea prescribed for heart failure etc.
Examples of digitalis in a Sentence
To preserve the colour of flowers pledgets of cotton wool, which prevent bruising, should be introduced between them, as also, if the stamens are thick and succulent, as in Digitalis, between these and the corolla.
The leaves of the foxglove, gathered from wild plants when about two-thirds of their flowers are expanded, deprived usually of the petiole and the thicker part of the midrib, and dried, constitute the drug digitalis or digitalis folia of the Pharmacopoeia.
Digitalis contains four important glucosides, of which three are cardiac stimulants.
Digitalis leaves have no definite external action.
The clinical influence of digitalis upon the heart is very well defined.
Almost equally striking is the fact that digitalis causes an irregular pulse to become regular.
These symptoms with more or less gastro-intestinal irritation and decrease in the quantity of urine passed indicate digitalis poisoning.
The initial action of digitalis is a stimulation of the cardiac terminals of the vagus nerves, so that the heart's action is slowed.
It is probable that digitalis increases the amount of water rather than that of the urinary solids.
In large doses the action of digitalis on the circulation causes various cerebral symptoms, such as seeing all objects blue, and various other disturbances of the special senses.
Digitalis is used in therapeutics exclusively for its action on the circulation.
But digitalis is indicated whenever the heart shows itself unequal to the work it has to perform.
Iron may, however, be prescribed in combination with digitalis by the addition of dilute phosphoric acid.
Thus, in Veronica, the rotate corolla has one division much smaller than the rest, and in foxglove (Digitalis) there is a slightly irregular companulate corolla.
By the middle of the 19th century there were many workers on the subject, and the actions of such drugs as digitalis, morphine, alcohol, and many others had been frequently and minutely investigated.
Certain substances, notably digitalis, lead, mercury and strychnine, exhibit what is called a cumulative action - that is to say, when small quantities have been taken over a period of time, poisoning or an excessive action suddenly ensues.
How many more could it have saved had digitalis been released sooner?
Much later the healing properties of the drug digitalis, also from the foxglove plant, was extolled by doctors.
Digitalis (Foxglove) This plant actually gives us the heart medicine digitalis (Foxglove) This plant actually gives us the heart medicine digitalis, but ingested in uncontrolled quantities, it can be deadly.
It is only now understood that the skin of the toad contains a valuable glucoside which has an action similar to that of digitalis.
It belongs to a class of drugs known as digitalis glycosides.
So definite is this that, despite a great increase in the force of the contractions and despite experimental proof that the heart does more work in a given time under the influence of digitalis, the organ subsequently displays all the signs of having rested, its improved vigour being really due to its obtaining a larger supply of the nutrient blood.
Some of these plants, like willow and foxglove, have been harvested by modern medicine to produce remedies like aspirin and digitalis, a medication used to treat heart ailments.
It can cause headaches in some people and you should not use it if you have high blood pressure or are taking digitalis.
Foxglove (Digitalis Purpurea) - Wild Foxgloves seldom differ in color, but cultivated ones assume a variety of colors, including white, cream, rose, red, deep red, and other shades.