purgative

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purgative

Med

1. a drug or agent for purging the bowels

2. causing evacuation of the bowels; cathartic

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Purgative

(also, depending on the substance used, laxative, cathartic, or aperient), a medicinal substance that increases the frequency and fluidity of stool, thus normalizing intestinal function in cases of constipation. In chemical composition, purgatives may be inorganic compounds, for example, such salts of alkali and alkaline-earth metals as sodium sulfate, Carlsbad salt artificial, and magnesium sulfate. They may also be organic compounds, for example, acids and such oils as mineral and castor oils. Some vegetation can also serve as purgatives, for example, powder of rhubarb.

The mechanism of purgative action varies. Rhubarb and phonolphthalein stimulate the chemoreceptors of the intestinal mucosa, and mineral and vegetable oils facilitate the movement of intestinal contents. Salt purgatives inhibit the absorption of water in the intestine, which increases the volume of intestinal contents and results in intensified peristalsis. The use of mineral waters as purgatives is based on the action of salts; mineral waters include the Slavianov, Morshin, Batalin, and the Izhevsk mineral waters. Closely related to salts in their action are substances that swell in water, such as linseed and sea kale.

Purgatives are used in cases of constipation and to remove poisons and poor-quality food products from the intestine (salt purgatives). The administration of purgatives is contraindi-cated in cases of intestinal inflammatory processes or pregnancy.

REFERENCE

Mashkovskii, M. D. Lekarstvennye sredstva, 7th ed., part 1. Moscow, 1972.

O. S. RADBIL’

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References in periodicals archive ?

Conclusions: Use of enemas before purgatives in patients with constipation significantly improves adequacy of right colon cleansing.

A new approach in bowel preparation before colonoscopy in patients with constipation: A prospective, randomized, investigator-blinded trial

The condition can be managed without saline purgatives or oral metronidazole, as practised earlier.

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She would take purgatives and exercise obsessively with long horse rides, hours of hiking and gymnastics in her efforts to remain stick thin.

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For patients who cannot tolerate or are unresponsive to purgative therapy, non-absorbable antibiotics are an accepted alternative therapy for hepatic encephalopathy.

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Polyethylene glycol (PEG) and oral sodium phosphate (OSP) solutions are the two most widely-used purgative agents.

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In a retrospective study of nearly 10,000 patients, those given oral sodium phosphate purgatives prior to colonoscopy had 2.35 times the chance of developing acute kidney injury as did those given polyethylene glycol purgatives.

Oral purgatives linked with acute kidney injury

But the French medical corps itself was then mainly inspired by Gui Pantin, the physician recommending exclusive treatment by the three 'S': 'saignee' (bloodletting), 'son' (bran--used for medicinal baths) and 'sene' (senna leaves used as purgative).

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"Women's bodies contain more fluid than men's, and as it sloshes around it excites their passions, dampens their reason, and renders them all but ineducable." "Dysentery should be treated by strong purgatives, which aid the body's curative powers." "The English are violent because they eat too much red meat." According to Kathleen Wellman, the empirical, experimental method that produced these conclusions paved the way for the Enlightenment.

La Mettrie: Medicine, Philosophy, and Enlightenment

Benjamin Rush, who made one of its suggestions on the use of purgatives the basis for his medical practice in that disease.

Mitchell, John (1680?-1750?)

Many additional factors, including dietary restriction, type, time for taking and amount of purgatives and ingested liquid, and various patient factors, such as age, comorbidities, physical activity, and patient compliance, can influence the quality of bowel preparation (11,12).

Improving the quality of colonoscopy: Impact of efficient and safer preparation protocols and shorter waiting times

In times of sickness we knew where we belonged-to the infirmary or isolation room, a small room that Mama reserved for the sick, where she did not spare us from the works: thermometer, enemas or purgatives, medicines, body rubs, etc.

Many-splendored Mama

The charcoal absorbed the lantana toxins and purgatives helped to remove the toxic materials from gastrointestinal tract.

Clinical findings, post mortem lesions and therapeutic management of lantana toxicity in ovines