Experimental researches on the physiological action of nitrite of amyl : (memoir to which was awarded the Warren Prize, for 1871, of the Massachusetts General Hospital) / by Horatio C. Wood, Jr., M.D.
- Horatio Curtis Wood Jr.
- Date:
- [1871]
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Experimental researches on the physiological action of nitrite of amyl : (memoir to which was awarded the Warren Prize, for 1871, of the Massachusetts General Hospital) / by Horatio C. Wood, Jr., M.D. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.
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![[Extracted from the American Journal of the Medical Sciences for July, 1871.] EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCHES ON THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF NITKITE OF AMYL. (MEMOIR TO WHICH WAS AWARDED THE WARREN PRIZE, FOR 1871, OF THE MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL.) By HORATIO C. WOOD, Jr., M.D., PROF. OF BOTANT IN THE DNlVEBSITr OF PENNSYLVANIA, PHYSICIAN TO THE PHILADELPHIA HOSPITAL, ETC. Nitrite of amyl is a somewhat oily liquid, of a light yellowish colour, and a peculiar, very penetrating and persistent, fruity odour, which has been compared to that of over-ripe pears. It is very volatile and inflamma- ble, and, as far as I know, insoluble in all pharmaceutical menstrua. Mr. Storer, in his Dictionary of Soluhilities, mentions it, but gives no solvent for it, nor has experimentation alforded me any positive result. This essay is of course not the place to discuss its chemistry, but it is proper to state that my experiments have been made with two distinct parcels or specimens of the drug, which entirely resemble one another both in their physical characters and their action upon animals. One of these samples was imported by Mr. Spangenburg, of New York city, but from whom he obtained it I do not know. The other was manufactured by Prof. Maisch, of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, by Ballard's process as modified by Hoffmann, and accords in all respects with the description of the pure article given in Gmelin's Handbook of Chemistry. ^ In 1859 Guthrie called attention to the flushing of the face and throb- bing of the carotids caused by inhalation of nitrite of amy], but it was not until 1864 that any notice was taken of his remarks.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b2147994x_0003.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
