A manual of materia medica and therapeutics : including the preparations of the British pharmacopoeia (1867), and many other approved medicines / by J. Forbes Royle and Frederick W. Headland.

  • John Forbes Royle
Date:
MDCCCLXVIII [1868]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A manual of materia medica and therapeutics : including the preparations of the British pharmacopoeia (1867), and many other approved medicines / by J. Forbes Royle and Frederick W. Headland. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by King’s College London. The original may be consulted at King’s College London.

    764/840 (page 752)
    [Cornu, L. Cervus Elaphus, Linn. Horn and Horn-shavings of the Stag. Cornu ustum, L. Burnt Horn; (impure Phosphate of Lime.) The antlers of the Stag, or rather of the male called Hart, are known officinally as Hartshorn and Hartshorn-shavings. They are selected because they differ in chemical composition from common horn, as of oxen, sheep, &c., which is analogous to coagulated Albumen. The antlers of the Stag, which are shed annually in spring, have the composition of Bone, that is, Gelatine 27, and Phosphate of Lime 5 7'5, with one part of Carb. of Lime. The Gelatine, however, is more soluble in boiling water than the Gelatine of bones. Subjected to destructive distillation, an impure Carbonate of Ammonia is obtained. This is so well known by the name of Spirit of Hartshorn, that other perparations, not so obtained, are called by the same name. When burnt, Hartshorn yields ashes consisting almost entirely of Phosphate of Lime. Action. Uses.—Hartshorn shavings, boiled in water, yield a nutri- tious and colourless jelly, which may be used for the same purposes as that obtained from Isinglass or other sources. They are employed in the preparation of Pulv. Antim. Comp., L.] Moschus, B. Moschus moschiferus, Linn. Inspissated secretion from the preputial follicles, dried. Musk. (Imported from China and India.) The Musk animal differs from common Ruminants, in the absence of horns, and in having long canine teeth on each side of the upper jaw. It inhabits the mountainous regions of Central Asia, including Thibet, and extending from the Himalayas to the Altai Mountains, and from these to China. Hence, as in the case of Rhubarb from the same regions, we have Russian, China, and Indian Musk. It is singular that the common Hindoo name of the Musk, and in the Himalayas that of the Musk animal, is kustooree, a name similar to Castoreum, a substance which Musk so closely resembles in nature. The name musk is no doubt derived from the Arabic mishk, or mooshk, which is evidently the same word as the Sanscrit mooshka. This has been used as a perfume and as a medicine by the Hindoos from very early times. It seems to have been adopted from the Hindoos by Serapion, but it was previously mentioned by JStius. The animal hears a close resemblance to the Deer tribe in shape and size. It is usually less than three feet in length, with the haunches somewhat more elevated than the shoulders. The want of horns and the projecting canines have already been mentioned. There are altogether 32 teeth: namely, 8 incisors in the lower jaw, 2 canines in the upper, and 24 molars. The canines are not met with in the female. The ears are long and narrow, and the tail very short. The fleece, which consists of strong, elastic, undulated hairs, varies in colour with the season, the age of the animal, and perhaps the place which it inhabits. The general colour is a deep iron grey. The individual hairs are whitish near the root, and fawn-coloured or blackish towards the tip. The gestation of the female was quite unknown until Mr Hodgson in N epal ascertained that it was about 170 days. They are extremely timid, mild, and gentle in their nature. Found on the tops of difficultly-accessible and generally open mountains, usually