Volume 1

The extra pharmacopœia of Martindale and Westcott.

  • Martindale, William, 1840-1902.
Date:
1932-1935
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The extra pharmacopœia of Martindale and Westcott. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    of elimination and prolonged action. Details are given of various surgical procedures employing the anaesthetic. Quinanil, a new Quinoline derivative, is used as a prophylactic antiseptic dressing for wounds and has various other local uses, e.g. as an irrigant—v. p. 320. Amidopyrin.—It is held that this useful antipyretic has specific powers in measles. The pros and cons are provided on pp. 329, 330. Gocse Folia.—An interesting historical note on the first use of Cocaine by a practitioner in London—house physician at the time to Sidney Ringer at University College Hospital—is on p. 333. The first dose wTas 1/6 grain, which was gradually increased to \ grain, given to him by a fellow resident, simply as a pharmacological experiment to test cutaneous sensibility to tactile, thermal, and painful sensations, and their distribution around the site of injection. The next logical step, the injection of Cocaine Hydrochloride subcutaneously for surgical purposes, was the first occasion, so far as is known, of its actual use in a minor surgical operation, and the induction of a sufficiency of anaesthesia—v. p, 333. Latterly, during the last decade or two, for reasons which we consider quite inadequate, Cocaine has been under a ban. To maintain that there is any marked misuse of the alkaloid in this country is of course absurd. The ‘ Yellow Press ’ must, however, continue to provide 4 Yellow’ stunts for consumers. A few weeks ago the smuggling of Cocaine in the ends of long cigars packed in petrol tins and thrown overboard in quiet harbours on the East Coast of England, from Dutch exporting localities, was dwelt upon to the extent of several columns by a newspaper famous for its enterprise. Apart from journalistic 4 stunts ’, we agree with the writer in the R.M.J. i./3i,495, that 4 misuse of Cocaine in England is nilOn the subject of drug addiction in general, England is a model among nations in this, and kindred, spheres. Our Home Office knows of oniy 250 addicts. See our p. 561. Novocain.—On p. 346 et seq. we provide a digest of new infor¬ mation on the induction of spinal and other types of anaesthesia with the aid of Novocain. The inclusion of Ephedrine in the tech¬ nique is new. The proprietary Spinocain, hailing from U.S.A., is briefly touched upon. A certain amount of doubt centres round the chemistry of Gliadin or Amyloprolamin, which is a constituent. The controllable spinal anaesthetic introduced by the late A. E. Barker, comprising Stovaine with the addition of Glucose, has, so far as we recall, never been adversely criticised, and only quite recently an authority speaks of its having been used many hundreds of times—v. p. 352. Anaesthesin has the advantage of being an innocuous anaesthetic soluble in oils. This property has been made use of in a solution termed 4 A.B.A.’, for injection in pruritus ani and anal fissure —v. p. 350. Codeine.— are included. Notes on Eucodal and Dicodid, two new narcotics, These are both |p 1] and [gj], and their use is subject