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followed, in the main, the leadership of his esteemed friend and teacher,
Professor Joseph P. Remington, of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy,
whose excellent work in the Committee for the Revision of the United
States Pharmacopoeia, and on the United States Dispensatory, and more
recently displayed in his masterly treatise, “The Practice of Pharmacy,"
justly entitle him to the great reputation which he has acquired as one of
the greatest of modern teachers in the branch of knowledge under con-
sideration.

Finally, it must be remembered that a QUIZ-COMPEND is not a text-book.
It is intended for the sole purpose of aiding the student in connection with
Lis lecturer and text-book, and will not do as a substitute for either.
F. E. STEWART.

COMPEND OF PHARMACY.

INTRODUCTORY.

PHARMACOPOEIAS AND DISPENSATORIES.

What is a Pharmacopoeia? A Pharmacopoeia is an authoritative list of medicinal substances, with definitions, descriptions, or formulæ for their preparation.

The necessity for authoritative standards to define the character, establish the purity, and regulate the strength of medicines, is recognized by all civilized nations. The most important of these works, with the date of their last issue now extant, are as follows: U. S. Pharmacopoeia (1893) ;1 British Pharmacopoeia (1885); 2 Pharmacopoea Germanica (1890); Codex Medicamentarius (Pharmacopée Française)—France (1884); P. Austriaca -Austria (1889); P. Rossica-Russia (1891); P. Suecica-Sweden (1869); P. Norvegica-Norway (1879); P. Danica—Denmark (1893); P. Belgica—Belgium (1885); P. `Helvetica—Switzerland (1893); Farmacopea Española-Spain (1884); Pharmacopêa Portugueza-Portugal (1876); P. of India (1868); P. Hungarica-Hungary (1888); P. Neerlandica Netherlands (1889); P. Româna-Roumania (1874); P. Fenica -Finland (1885); EAAHNIKII ÞAPMAKONOIIA-Greece (1868); Nueva Farmacopea Mexicana (1884); Farmacopea ufficiale del Regno d'Italia-Italy (1892); Farmacopea Chilena-Chili (1886); Pharmacopoea Japanica-Japan (1891).

Countries having no national Pharmacopoeia adopt the standard of other countries, or supply standard pharmaceutical works for the same purposes. The Pharmacopoeias of all nations except those of the United States, Mexico, Chili and Greece, are issued under the authority of the respective governments, and therefore partake of the nature of laws.

The U. S. P. was originally devised, and is decennially revised, by a committee appointed from the professions of medicine and pharmacy. It should be a representative list of the drugs and preparations employed in therapeutics.

NOMENCLATURE OF THE UNITED STATES PHARMACOPEIA OF 1890.

How are the titles of the medicinal substances indicated in the U. S. P. of 1890 ? 1, by the Official Name, which is always in Latin; 2, by the English Name; 3, by the Synonym; 4, by the Botanical Name

1 Designated as "U. S. P., 1890."
Supplement, 1890.

3 Supplement, 1869.

(in the case of plants); 5, by the Symbolic Formula (in the case of chemicals).

Give examples of each. Cannabis Indica (official name). Indian Cannabis (English name). Indian Hemp (Synonym). Zinci Iodidum (O. N.). Zinc Iodide (E. N.). ZnI,; 318.16 (Symbolic Formula). Prunus Virginiana (O. N.). Wild Cherry (E. N.). Prunus serotina (Botanical name).

1. The Official Name.-When is the use of the official name proper? In designating the drug when precision is required-labels, prescriptions, specimens, etc.

Why is the Latin Language employed for the official name? Because it is a dead language and is not liable to change, as in the case of a living tongue.

2. The English Name.-When should the English name be employed? In ordinary conversation, in commercial transactions, and in all cases "where the use of the Latin official name could be justly criticised as an ostentatious display of erudition."

3. The Synonym.-When should the synonym be used? The synonym should be rarely or never used. The synonym is usually antiquated and from an unscientific source, but on account of long usage in common language synonyms cannot be completely ignored.

4. The Botanical Name.-What is meant by the botanical name?"By this is meant the systematic name recognized by botanists for plants, which serves in pharmacopoeial nomenclature as the basis of the official name.

Capsicum fastigiatum is the botanical name for the variety of Cayenne pepper designated by the U. S. P. Capsicum indicates the genus, fastigiatum the species to which the plant belongs. Then follows the definition, which shows what part of the plant is employed, "the fruit of Capsicum fastigiatum."

When should a capital letter be employed in writing the specific name? 1. When the specific name is derived from a generic name, as Rhamnus Frangula; 2. When derived from the name of a person, as Strychnos Ignatii; 3. When indeclinable, as Erythroxylon Coca.

The name of the author follows the botanical name, as Capsicum fastigiatum Blume, then the natural order to which the plant belongs, in italics, the latter being enclosed in parentheses, as (Nat. Ord., Solanacea).

When should the botanical name be employed? Its use is absolutely necessary in establishing the identity of drugs.

5. The Symbolic Formula.-What is meant by the symbolic formula? The symbolic formula is a combination of symbols representing the chemical structure of the articles to which they refer, with the utmost brevity and exactness.

Nal means the same as Sodii Iodidum and Iodide of Sodium, but it is shorter and much more definite. (ZnCO3)23Zn(HO), means that precipitated carbonate of zinc consists of two molecules of carbonate of zinc and three molecules of hydrate of zinc. Na2SO3+7H2O, means sulphite of sodium containing seven molecules of water of crystallization, and no other sulphite of sodium.

Both the new and the old chemical nomenclature are used by the U.S.P.

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