THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PENTOBARBITAL IN ANTIDOTING STRYCHNINE POISONING IN THE RABBIT

Abstract

Following the report of Dawson and Taft¹ in which several barbitals were shown to antagonize effectively the fatal reaction of the rabbit to from 1 to 1½ lethal doses of strychnine, an attempt was made to adapt the results of their study for inclusion in our course in pharmacodynamics. The observations of these authors in relation to pentobarbital were confirmed; the other members of the group were not tested. The ease with which the antagonism may be demonstrated and the remarkable protective effect of pentobarbital against strychnine poisoning (up to thirty-five times the minimum lethal dose) appeared to merit publication of a representative protocol and a summary of the results obtained with various dosages of the alkaloid simply as an extension of the studies of Dawson and Taft. Recently, and subsequent to completion of these observations, Swanson² observed that amytal antidotes approximately 10 lethal doses of strychnine in