As advertised by a beef extract company named after chloroform codiscoverer Justus von Liebig, this portion of a trading card’s obverse is from the Italian-language version of the 1904 “Poisonous Plants” series. A deadly member of Ranunculaceae, the Buttercup Family, the depicted aconite (Aconitum napellus, right) is better known as monkshood or wolf’s bane. Also illustrated are tribesmen (left) carefully applying aconite to the tips of their arrows, darts, and spears. Brushing against this toxic plant can produce dizziness, vomiting, and even death. Historically, dilute quantities of aconite have been used as a neurotoxic local anesthetic to treat toothaches, but such practices are dangerous. (Copyright © the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology.)
As advertised by a beef extract company named after chloroform codiscoverer Justus von Liebig, this portion of a trading card’s obverse is from the Italian-language version of the 1904 “Poisonous Plants” series. A deadly member of Ranunculaceae, the Buttercup Family, the depicted aconite (Aconitum napellus, right) is better known as monkshood or wolf’s bane. Also illustrated are tribesmen (left) carefully applying aconite to the tips of their arrows, darts, and spears. Brushing against this toxic plant can produce dizziness, vomiting, and even death. Historically, dilute quantities of aconite have been used as a neurotoxic local anesthetic to treat toothaches, but such practices are dangerous. (Copyright © the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology.)
George S. Bause, M.D., M.P.H., Honorary Curator and Laureate of the History of Anesthesia, Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, Schaumburg, Illinois, and Clinical Associate Professor, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. UJYC@aol.com.
