PREFACE

TO THE

BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CODEX, 1907.

THE Scope of this work may be defined by describing the book as an Imperial dispensatory for the use of medical practitioners and pharmacists, since it contains information respecting all drugs and medicines in common use throughout the British Empire, including the principal substances and preparations which are official in the Pharmacopoeias of France, Germany, and the United States, as well as those described in the British Pharmacopoeia. The chief aim of the work is the provision of accurate information for prescribers and dispensers, special attention being given to the requirements of those practising in the British dominions beyond. the seas. Pharmacopoeias were originally produced for the purpose of enabling dispensers to determine the meaning and value of the terms employed in extemporaneous prescriptions, and thus gradually became registers of approved and established remedies, containing descriptions of the drugs and chemicals officially recognised for use in the treatment of disease, with formulæ for such compounded medicines as admitted of being kept ready for use. It is well known, however, that pharmacopoeias do not, as a rule, deal with more than a portion of the materia medica in common use at the time they are published. Numerous medicaments in constant demand are excluded because their value as remedies is not thought to be sufficiently established; others, again, cease to receive official recognition though the demand for them continues.

With the object of providing recognised formulæ for medicines which are not official in the British Empire, various supplements to the pharmacopoeias have been published from time to time, the most notable being that of Gray, which first appeared in 1818.

In that work was originally given a concise account of the actual state of the existing knowledge of drugs in general; subsequent editions of Gray's Supplement,' edited by the late Professor Redwood, were equally comprehensive in their scope, and included a great number of unofficial formulæ for the preparation of medicinal substances which were prescribed by practitioners in medicine, and supplied by those who practised pharmacy. This extremely useful work, however, has not been re-published since the British Pharmacopoeia was called into existence by the Medical Act of 1858, though there has been no lack of excellent books, produced by private enterprise, which have served in great measure to fill the place which the Supplements' of Gray and Redwood formerly occupied. These more recent works have usefully supplemented the official materia medica by giving particulars of medicinal articles which were formerly official; in addition, they have furnished much valuable information concerning the newer materia medica, consisting of substances and preparations which have not yet attained the status of officially approved and established remedies. But no book hitherto published has realised the ideal of a guide such as is needed throughout the British Empire by those engaged in the prescribing or dispensing of medicines. A work published by the authority of some statutory body was manifestly required to meet the needs of the case; and, by a resolution formally adopted on November 4, 1903, the Council of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain decided to produce a book of reference which, as now completed, may fairly be regarded as supplying authoritative guidance to those concerned.

The plan of the work may be described briefly as resembling generally that of most pharmacopoeias and dispensatories. Monographs on drugs of vegetable and animal origin, and others dealing with chemical substances used in medicine, with formulæ for galenical preparations and solutions, are arranged in strict alphabetical order under Latinised names, with English equivalents, and synonyms where such exist. In the case of crude drugs, each monograph begins with a brief statement as to the botanical or zoological, geographical, and commercial sources of the drug, the natural order or family to which the plant or animal belongs, and the methods of collecting and preparing the drug for the market. Then follows a detailed description of the drug, including, where necessary, its distinctive histological features and information regarding its important chemical constituents. The pharmacological action of the drug is next described, its common uses are mentioned, and notes are given respecting the best methods of prescribing and

dispensing the remedy. The dose of the medicament is given in both metric and Imperial quantities, and special notes on methods of storage, adulterants, etc., are provided, where required, in smaller type. The monographs on chemical substances are arranged in much the same way, brief references to the methods of production being followed by descriptions, statements of physical properties, tests, antidotes,. etc. Pharmacological notes and suggestions as to prescribing and dispensing follow, with doses and special notes as in the case of crude drugs, attention being directed to the different commercial varieties, where such varieties are used for scientific and technical purposes, as well as in medicine.

In order to render the work more valuable to medical practitioners, much information is given regarding the properties of drugs, and the conditions and diseases in which galenical preparations are usually given. The notes on the properties of drugs are not mere excerpts from medical literature, but original and concise descriptions of physiological action, which should assist medical practitioners to formulate a rational therapy, without encouraging counter prescribing. No attempt is made to deal fully with the subject of therapeutics, and the notes on prescribing are simply such as will assist medical practitioners to construct their prescriptions in a scientific and practical manner.

The formulæ for galenical preparations and solutions are arranged on a somewhat novel plan, every preparation being made up, except in few instances, to one hundred parts by weight or volume. As a result, either metric or Imperial weights may be employed in compounding, and prescribers can see at a glance what is the approximate percentage composition of any preparation. centesimal system of representing formulæ possesses certain disadvantages, which are perhaps most marked in the case of such classes of preparations as lozenges, pills and suppositories. As a means of overcoming these disadvantages and minimising the labour of calculating the quantities required to make a pint, pound, or ounce of any preparation, the conversion table specially compiled for that purpose should be found useful. At the same time, the use of decimal (metric) weights and measures is recommended.

Greater prominence is given to many classes of galenical preparations than is usually accorded to them in pharmacopoeias, and the formulæ include many which are entirely new, though they have been tried and tested, the idea being to provide recognised methods of preparing compounded medicines which are not recognised in the British Pharmacopoeia. Notes on the uses of the