Handbook of materia medica, pharmacy, and therapeutics : including the physiological action of drugs, the special therapeutics of disease, official and practical pharmacy, and minute directions for prescription writing / by Sam'l O.L. Potter.
- Samuel Otway Lewis Potter
- Date:
- 1897
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Handbook of materia medica, pharmacy, and therapeutics : including the physiological action of drugs, the special therapeutics of disease, official and practical pharmacy, and minute directions for prescription writing / by Sam'l O.L. Potter. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.
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![ening or melting when heated and solidifying again on cooling. They are oxidized terpenes, consist of an acid or a mixture of acids, and dis- solve in alkalies, forming a kind of soap. They may be obtained from oleo-resins, as turpentine, by simple distillation, the volatile oil passing over and the resin remaining behind; or by heating the part of the plant in which they are contained, as in the case of guaiacum resin. [Com- pare the title Resin^e, in Part II.] Gum-resins are natural mixtures of gum and resin. When they are rubbed up with water the gummy matter dissolves and the resin is suspended in the form of an emulsion. [Compare the title Emulsa, in Part II.] The Insoluble Constituents of vegetable drugs are Cellulose, Lignin and Sclerogen, which make up the cell-walls of vegetable sub- stances, and are extremely intractable. ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICINES. Medicines may be introduced into the circulation by various routes, including the mouth, the stomach, the rectum, the respiratory tract, the veins and arteries, the subcutaneous cellular tissue, and the integument itself. The Mouth is the usual receptacle for medicines intended for the stomach, but may itself be employed for the introduction of minute quan- tities of powerful agents. A drop of the tincture of Aconite placed on the tongue is quickly absorbed, and soon manifests that fact by its symp- toms. The small tablets used for hypodermic administration, if placed under the tongue, are readily conveyed into the system, and used in this way form a very convenient means of medication with alkaloids and other active principles. The Stomach is the most convenient organ for the absorption of medicines and the one most frequently employed. After having been swallowed the remedies find their way into the current of the circulation, through the walls of the gastro-intestinal bloodvessels and the lacteals. When the stomach is empty and its mucous membrane healthy, crystalloidal substances in solution pass through the walls of its vessels with great rapid- ity. Colloidal Substances {idXs, albumen, gum, gelatin, etc.) require to be digested and emulsified before they can be absorbed. Iodine and Iodides should be given on an empty stomach, so that they may diffuse rapidly into the blood ; if administered during digestion the acid gastric juice and the starch of the food will alter their chemical constitution and](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b24907303_0029.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
