Intraspinal Administration of Morphin

The object of this preliminary note is to call attention to the pronounced and unexpected action of morphin when injected into the cerebrospinal canal or directly into any part of the central nervous system. In clinical work the physician expects of this drug only a sedative, quieting and pain-relieving action. It perhaps rarely enters his mind that, depending on the mode of administration or rather the place of administration, it may have an entirely opposite effect. It is well known to laboratory workers that, after large doses of morphin, frogs develop a tetanus much resembling that produced by the action of strychnin. Most text-books on pharmacology, however, mention the difficulty of obtaining this action in mammals except by special means. It is the object of this note to tell how this may be obtained easily and to prevent its probable development when least desired. McGuigan and Becht have shown that