The group of naturally occurring substances known as the cardiac drugs forms an interesting division of the large group of steroids. These substances have been grouped together on the basis of a common pharmacodynamic action on the heart. The investigations, chiefly of Jacobs, Windaus, Tschesche, and Stoll, have provided ample evidence, which has been adequately reviewed in numerous publications (1), for assigning structures to the more important members of the group. With the exception of the toad venoms and a few other substances of alkaloidal nature, the drugs are all non-nitrogenous glycosides which on hydrolysis with acid break with greater or less ease into the aglycones and constituent sugars. The major portion of the physiological action of the glycosides has been found to reside in the aglycone portion of the molecule, although the nature of the sugar moiety plays a definite but relatively minor part in determining the quantitative action of the drugs (2). For purposes of chemical classification it is convenient to subdivide the group of aglycones on the basis of the structure of the side chain. Thus one finds a large group of aglycones, which can be called the "digitalis-strophanthus group," characterized by a side chain consisting of the lactone of an enolized |8-aldehydo acid carrying the cyclopentanophenanthrene ring system as a substituent on the /3-carbon atom (type formula I), and a second and smaller group, which may be designated the "squill-toad venom group," in which the side chain is an -pyrone substituted in the 5-position (type formula II).