Gray's supplement to the Pharmacopoeia : being a concise but comprehensive dispensatory and manual of facts and formulae, for the chemist and druggist and medical practitioner / by Theophilus Redwood.

  • Samuel Frederick Gray
Date:
1848
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Gray's supplement to the Pharmacopoeia : being a concise but comprehensive dispensatory and manual of facts and formulae, for the chemist and druggist and medical practitioner / by Theophilus Redwood. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

    21/1088 page 5
    tions that might singly prevail against every species of poison, they amassed together whatever they had imcigined to be endued with alexipharmic powers. By this procedure, the simplicity of physic was lost, and a wantonness in mixing, enlarging, and accumulating, took place, which has continued even to our times. The celebrated mithridate and theriaca may be instanced in illustration of the fore- going statement, these medicines having been said to contain the proper antidote against every possible species of poison. Nor was this redun- dancy of composition confined to such medicines as the above; the same feature pervaded nearly the whole of the formulae of the early phai'macopoeias. One of the old Paris Pharmacopoeias contained a formula for a plaster, (emplastrum diabotonon,) consisting of sixty ingredients, and for a distilled water, (aqua generalis,) consisting of more than 120 ingredients. Previous to the publication of the Phar- macopoeia of ] 746, the London College appointed a committee of their body for the purpose of suggesting such alterations as were thought desirable to be made. This committee appear to have entered upon their work with a determination of founding the formulae upon the principles of simplicity. A most radical change was recommended by the committee and carried out by the college. The arrangement of the work was entirely recast; nearly the whole of the old prolix formuliB were rejected, and those which were substituted for them may be said to have originated and formed the bases of the medicinal compounds which have chiefly been employed in this country from that day to the present. Dr. Plumptre was president of the college at the time this Phai^macopoeia was published. In 1788, a further change was made, and as that which had taken place in 1746 related chiefly to what are called the G-alenical prepara- tions, so this, for the most part, had reference to the chemical. Subse- quent changes were made in 1809, 1824, and 1836, the last date being that of our pi'esent Pharmacopoeia, which is decidedly superior to any that has preceded it. The Edinburgh Pharmacopeia was first published in 1699. Subse- quent editions, or republications, have appeared in 1722, 1736, 1744, 1756, 1774, 1783, 1788, 1792, 1803, 1804, 1806, 1813, 1817, 1839, and 1841. The first Dublin Pharmacopceia was published in 1807. Previous to this time, however, in the year 1794, a Specimen Pharmacopceia had been circulated among the members of the college, and another in 1805. The preparation of these woi-ks had been chiefly committed to Dr. Percival.* A new Dublin Pharmacopoeia was brought out in 1826, which is the last that has been published. A Pharmacopceia is in course of preparation for Bengal and Upper India. FEANCE. The Parisian Codex, or French Pharmacopceia, was first issued in 1639. In the year 1590, the parliament had decreed, with a view to the public good, that the faculty of medicine should elect a committee * Historical Sketch of tlie Progress of Pharmacy in Great Britain. By Jacob Bell.
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3