Hypodermic Injection.

Hypodermic Injection. This method, first introduced by the late Dr Alexander Wood of Edinburgh, is an extremely valuable one in certain cases, though its applicability is limited. It consists in the injection of a solution of the substance to be given beneath the skin, by means of a fine hollow needle to which a small syringe is attached. The prick given by the needle is much less acutely felt by the patient if the needle be lubricated with carbolic oil or the like. Absorption from the subcutaneous tissue takes place speedily, and is not interfered with by vomiting, or other conditions of the stomach which may delay or prevent the entrance of the remedy into the system by that channel. The action of the drug is thus at once more rapid and more certain than when administered by the mouth; and a smaller dose is required. Only such substances as can be given in small bulk and in an unirritating condition are available. It is thus chiefly of use for the vegetable alkaloids, of which morphia is far the most often employed. It need hardly be said that it is to be used only by skilled hands. The same method is largely employed in experiments on the action of disease poisons in animals, and in Pasteur's treatment of hydrophobia; see also DIPHTHERIA, TUBERCLE.