PARALDEHYDE  , in See also:

• MEDICINE

medicine, a clear colourless liquid (for the See also:

• CHEMISTRY
• CHEMISTRY (formerly "chymistry"; Gr. xvµela; for derivation see ALCHEMY)

chemistry see See also:

• ALDEHYDES

ALDEHYDES), soluble in 1 in ro of See also:

• WATER

water and freely in See also:

• ALCOHOL

alcohol . Paraldehyde is a powerful hypnotic, giving a refreshing quiet See also:

• SLEEP (0. Eng. slcepan; Ger. schlafen; cf. Lat. labi, to glide, and " slip ")

sleep which is not followed by unpleasant I after effects . As it does not depress the See also:

• HEART
• HEART, LUNG

heart when used in medicinal doses, it may be given to patients suffering from cardiac disease . It is much used to produce sleep in the insane . As it is largely excreted by the lungs it may be found useful in bronchial See also:

• ASTHMA (Gr. avBµa, gasping, whence lio-Ogaivw, I gasp for breath)

asthma . When taken continuously the See also:

• DRUG
• DRUG (from Fr. drogue, a word common in Romance languages, cf. Span. and Ital. droga; the origin of the word is obscure, but may possibly be connected with Dutch droog, dry)

drug soon loses its See also:

• POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power as a hypnotic . Its unpleasant See also:

• TASTE (from Lat. taxare, to touch sharply; tangere, to touch)

taste usually prevents the formation of a paraldehyde See also:

• HABIT (through the French from Lat. habitus, from habere, to have, hold, or, in a reflective sense, to be in a certain condition; in many of the English senses the French use habitude, not habit)

habit, but it occasionally occurs with symptoms resembling See also:

• DELIRIUM (a Latin medical term for madness, from delirare, to be mad, literally to wander from the lira, or furrow)

delirium tremens . When taken in an overdose paraldehyde kills by producing See also:

• RESPIRATORY

respiratory failure .