Beginning his research after hearing of an old country woman who used the herb to cure dropsy, Withering used foxglove to treat congestive heart failure with some success. Its introduction into the Edinburgh pharmacopoeia in 1783 and its subsequent widespread acceptance eventually led to its overuse and Withering's classic Account of the Foxglove was actually written as a protest against such abuse. The book includes 163 cases involving the use of digitalis and is regarded as one of the classics in pharmacology (Heirs of Hippocrates 1039)
