The pharmacopoeia of the United States of America. 1820 / By the authority of the medical societies and colleges.

Date:
1820
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The pharmacopoeia of the United States of America. 1820 / By the authority of the medical societies and colleges. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    PREFACE. lr is the object of a Pharmacopeoeia to select from among substances which possess medicinal power, those, the utility of which is most fully established and best understood ; and to form from them prepara- tions and compositions, in which their powers may be exerted to the greatest advantage. It should like- wise distinguish those articles by convenient and defi- nite names, such as may prevent trouble or uncertainty in the intercourse of physicians and apothecaries. The value of a Pharmacopoeia depends upon the fidelity with which it conforms to the best state of medical knowledge of the day. Its usefulness de- pends upon the sanction it receives from the medical community and the public ; and the extent to which it governs the language and practice of those for whose use it 1s intended. In most European countries works of this kind have appeared under the authority of medical colleges and corporations. ‘Their usefulness has generally been co-extensive with the influence of the bodies of men from whom they have originated. If they have been Jess useful than might have been hoped from their
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