A text-book of practical therapeutics : with especial reference to the application of remedial measures to disease and their employment upon a rational basis / by Hobart Amory Hare.
- Hare, H. A. (Hobart Amory), 1862-1931.
- Date:
- 1897
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: A text-book of practical therapeutics : with especial reference to the application of remedial measures to disease and their employment upon a rational basis / by Hobart Amory Hare. Source: Wellcome Collection.
25/782 (page 23)
![acid There are two in the United States Pharmacopoeia (Acetum Opii and Acetum ScillcB) and three in the British. Alkaloids are organic bases, forming salts with acid radicals gen- erally occurring in crystalline form and abstracted from crude drugs. They nearly always represent the active principle of the drug_. AQU.E, or waters, are used as vehicles either for the dilution of strong medicines or for the purpose of carrying mmute amounts ot flavoring materials. ^ . , ^ r,, C VTAPLASMS are not official in the United States Pharmacopoeia, but are in the British Pharmacopoeia. They are virtually poultices made of linseed-meal or of bread-crumbs. Cerates are ointments containing wax to render them harder than would ordinary fats. i i • i • CHARTiE, or papers, consist of bibulous paper soaked m a solution of the drug which they are meant to carry. Confections are sometimes calle'd electuaries or conserves, and are soft pastes which contain the drug mixed with sugar or honey. Decoctions are solutions of drugs made by boiling and then strain- ing while hot. Elixirs are diluted tinctures rendered pleasant to the taste by the addition of aromatic substances and sugar. Emplastra, or plasters, are made up of adhesive substances placed upon a backing of cloth or leather and designed to adhere to the skin, being so applied for the purpose of holding a medicinal substance in contact with the body, of acting as a protective, or of aiding in the approximation of the edges of a wound. Extracts consist of the soluble parts of plants reduced to a semi- solid or solid condition by evaporation ; the soluble constituents being taken from the plant by water or alcohol. Fluid Extracts are made in the same Avay as solid extracts, except that they are not so completely evaporated. Glycerita, or glycerins, are solutions of various substances in glycerin—the glycerin being used as a vehicle. Infusions are made by pouring boiling water on the crude drug and allowing it to stand for a short time until the water cools, after which the liquid is strained. Sometimes cold water is employed. Pills are small round masses which, as a general rule, should not weigh more than three grains, in order to avoid their being too bulky. If the material is a heavy one, as much as five grains may be placed in each pill. Pills maybe uncovered or coated with sugar or gelatin. If the pill is frcsli and the sugar ])ure, they are useful. Many pills are fraudulently coated with varnish and are insoluble. Suppositories are small masses made into a cone shape and having for their basis cacao butter. They are designed to carry into the rectum certain medicines for absorption into the system or for local action. Tadlets.—Under this name manufacturing pharmacists and others prepare compressed pills or lozenges, generally of small size, the mass being made to adhere by means of its being'subjected to great pres- sure by special machinery. Smaller tablets are used for carrying](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b20388640_0025.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)