Digitalis purpurea" extract containing cardiac glycosides for the treatment of heart conditions was first described in the English-speaking medical literature by William Withering, in 1785, which is considered the beginning of modern therapeutics. It is used to increase cardiac contractility (it is a positive inotrope) and as an antiarrhythmic agent to control the heart rate, particularly in the irregular (and often fast) atrial fibrillation. Digitalis is hence often prescribed for patients in atrial fibrillation, especially if they have been diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Digoxin was approved for heart failure in 1998 under current regulations by the Food and Drug Administration
Nothing comes from nothing the song "Something Good", which contains the lyrics: "Nothing comes from nothing / nothing ever could". Although the song is devoid of intentional metaphysical connotations, Maria's time in Nonnberg Abbey would have familiarized her with the phrase, which is used in Catholic philosophy to explain God's gratuitous act of , namely, that only the source of all being can give creation its existence. Earlier in the film, in the well-known song "Maria", Maria's fellow nuns lament that there is "many a thing she ought to understand" and that she is "not an asset to the abbey". It is unclear if