British pharmacopoeia / published under the direction of the General Council of Medical Education and Registration of the United Kingdom, pursuant to the Medical act (1858), 1867.

Date:
1877
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: British pharmacopoeia / published under the direction of the General Council of Medical Education and Registration of the United Kingdom, pursuant to the Medical act (1858), 1867. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    authority, that, under such circumstances, symbolic for- ■mulce might with advantage be omitted from the Phar- macopoeia, and other means adopted for defining what is known of the composition of the substances referred to. The Council, however, did not think it expedient to re- linquish the use of such formulce, or to pronounce, directly or by implication, an opinion upon the comparative merits of the two systems ]-eferred to, but determined to represent chemical substances of definite chemical constitution both by the old and also by the new method of notation. In all cases, therefore, where chemical symbols are used, two formulcB are given, one according to the old, and the other according to the new system. These are distin- guished from each other by the use of different types, the formulcis according to the old system being printed in the lighter Eoman type (Al), and those according to the new system in the heavier Egyptian type (Al). In the use of names to designate medicines, the Council have endeavoured to adopt such as, with a due regard to conciseness, are most explicit and most likely to be understood, while at the same time they do not un- necessarily involve scientific theories that are liable to change, and are not likely when employed in pre- scriptions to excite the prejudices or the fears of those for whom the medicines may be ordered. Some names have been altered in accordance with these principles, but changes of name have in no case been introduced unices there appeared to be strong grounds for them. No alteration has been made in the weights and measures which in the edition of 1864 were directed to be used in the preparation of medicines. The grain