Knoll Cardiazol Kit

Knoll & Co. was founded in 1886 in Ludwigshafen, Germany. It was one of several German pharmaceutical houses that had established branches in the U. S. before World War I. This case originally contained a syringe, needles and seven ampoules of the central nervous system (CNS) stimulant, pentylenetetrazol (Cardiazol). One of these ampoules contained a mixture of Cardiazol and another CNS agent, epinephrine, and two contained a mixture of Cardiazol and quinine. The case also contained one ampoule of the vasopressor, isometheptene (Octinum), used to treat headache.

CNS stimulants act on both the respiratory and circulatory systems, and could have been used either for resuscitation or for shortening the duration of anesthesia. This case was found together with an Esmarch Kit bearing the mark of the Third Reich.