Fel Bovis

Ox-gall

Ox-gall.—The fresh bile of Bos Taurus Linné (class Mammalia; order, Ruminantia).

Description

A brownish-green or dark-green, somewhat viscid liquid, having a peculiar odor, a disagreeable, bitter taste, and a neutral or faintly alkaline reaction.

Pig's-gall, which can be procured in any desired quantity, should be substituted for ox-gall, as it conforms more nearly to the characteristics of human bile.

Fel Bovis Purificatum

Purified Ox-gall.—Fresh ox-gall precipitated by alcohol and evaporated to the proper consistence for a pill-mass. Dose, gr. x— 3 j.

Actions and Uses

The above-mentioned preparations of ox-gall have a liquefying effect on the bile; they increase the duodenal secretions, emulsionize fats, and quicken the peristalsis of the intestines. Hence, they are laxative. Ox-gall has been given with some success in those disorders of the intestinal canal characterized by the absence of some secretions, and the diminution of others, by foul odor of the stools due to decomposition, and in jaundice, when the bile is retained in the liver because of inspissated masses that block the common duct, or of mucus that has had the same effect.