The new dispensatory: containing I. The elements of pharmaceutical chemistry. II. The materia medica ... III. Pharmaceutical preparations. IV. Medicinal compositions ... Being an attempt to collect and apply the later discoveries to the Dispensatory published by W. Lewis ... / By gentlemen of the Faculty of Edinburgh [i.e. C. Webster and R. Irving].

Date:
1786
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The new dispensatory: containing I. The elements of pharmaceutical chemistry. II. The materia medica ... III. Pharmaceutical preparations. IV. Medicinal compositions ... Being an attempt to collect and apply the later discoveries to the Dispensatory published by W. Lewis ... / By gentlemen of the Faculty of Edinburgh [i.e. C. Webster and R. Irving]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    146/802 (page 94)
    comes high coloured, fmall in quan- and prevent putrefaction. Hence tity. and at lenghth fuppreffed ; a they are recommended as anthel- dropfy foon fucceeding. mintic ; and both externally and in- Bitter fubftances dcftroy infeCts, ternally as antifeptics. Emetics and Cathartics. Hellebore, Colocynth, Jalap, Scammony, ipecacoanha, Gamboge, &c. THESE fubftances conftft of a rcfinous part, in which the •purgative or emetic quality moft frequently refides ; and a gummy faline one, which a£ts chiefly as a diuretic. The firft is extracted or diftblvcd by vinous fpirits ; the lat- ter by water. Nothing arifes in di- ftillation from either. The acrid refills, exhibited by themfelves, tenacioufly adhere to the coats of the inteftines, by their fti- muldting power irritate and inflame them, and thus produce fundry vio- lent diforders. Hoffman relates, that he has fometimes obferved con- vulfions, and a paralvfis of both fides, from their ufe. Thefe inconveniencies may be avoided, by previoufly triturating them with fubftances capable of di- viding their tenacious texture, and pi eventing their adhefion ; by this means, they becqme mild and fafe, operate without difturbance, and at ihe fame time more effectually an- fwer the purpofes intended by them. Some have endeavoured to cor- rect the ill quality of the refinous purgatives, by the addition of acids and aromatics oils. Acids weaken their power, but have no other ef- fe£t than what a diminution of the dofe would equally anfwer. 1’he pungent effential oils may ferve to warm the ftomach, make the medi- cine fit eafier, and thus prevent the naufea, which fometimes happens ; but as foon as the refill begins to exert ltfelf in the inteftines, thefe oils, inftead of correcting, increafe its virulence ; being themfelves apt to occafion the inconveniencies which they are here intended to prevent, an irritation and inflammation of the bowels. Alkaline falts or foaps have a better eflcCt; as they difpofe the refin to folution, and promote it operation. The medicines of this clafs feem to a£t by (Emulating the coats of the ftomach and inteftines. If the irritation is ftrong and fudden, their action is quick and upwards: if fio« er, downwards. Cathartics, gi- ven in a liquid farm, or in very fcniible habits, often prove emetic ; and emetics where mucus abounds, cathartic. They operate more vio- lently in robuft conftxtutions than in thofe of a contrary temperament ; the veffels being in the former more tenfe and rigid, and confequently lefs capable of bearing an equal de- gree of irritation. The action of thefe medicines is extended beyond the primae vis : This appears evident from the in- creafe of the pulfe which always accompanies theiri operation ; and from the common obfervation of children being purged by the milk, if the nurfe has taken a carthartic. Borne of them, particularly belle-