PILULÆ PODOPHYLLI, BELLADONNE ET CAPSICI. Pills of Recipe.-Resin of Podophyllum, one and six-tenths grammes. 1.6 Gm. Capsicum, in moderately fine powder, three and Sugar of Milk, in fine powder, six and one-half 0.8 Gm. 3.2 Gm. 6.5 Gm. Acacia, in fine powder, one and six-tenths grammes... 1.6 Gm. Syrup, each, a sufficient quantity, To make one hundred pills.. 100 Triturate the Resin of Podophyllum, Capsicum, Sugar of Milk, and Acacia together to produce a uniform powder. Incorporate with this the Extract of Belladonna Leaves and sufficient of a mixture of equal parts of Glycerin and Syrup to form a mass; divide it into one hundred pills. Dose. One pill. PILULÆ RHEI COMPOSITE. Compound Pills of Rhubarb. Oil of Peppermint, one-half cubic centimeter.. To make one hundred pills.. 13.0 Gm. 10.0 Gm. 6.0 Gm. 0.5 Cc. 100 Mix the Oil of Peppermint intimately with the powders, then incorporate sufficient Water to form a mass; divide it into one hundred pills. Dose. Two pills. Doses of Official Pills As already mentioned, pills, troches, and suppositories differ from other classes of official pharmaceuticals taken internally in the fact that the finished products are subdivided into definite doses; hence while the dosage of other preparations are by weight or volume, we administer pills and troches by a certain number of subdivided particles. The pharmacopoeial doses of all official pills are either one or two pills. 1 pill: Pills of opium; phosphorus; podophyllum, belladonna, and capsicum. 2 pills: Pills of aloes; aloes and iron; aloes and mastic; aloes and myrrh; asafetida; compound cathartic; vegetable cathartic; ferrous carbonate; ferrous iodide; compound laxative; compound rhubarb. COMPRESSED TABLETS These are lenticular masses of medicinal substances forced into a solid mass by compression. Compressed tablets were introduced by Brockedon in 1843, and soon became popular by reason of their convenience and simplicity of manufacture. It must be said, however, that compressed tablets are open to the possible objection of insolubility. Many substances, when compressed sufficiently firmly to hold together, are very difficultly soluble. In the manufacture of compressed tablets this should be borne in mind, and care should be exercised in so blending the ingredients as to render them as soluble as possible under the circumstances. The making of such compressed tablets depends chiefly on the proper blending of the ingredients, foreign substances being added either to secure solubility or to prevent sticking in the mold. These added inert constituents can be roughly grouped under the word excipient. For each combination of chemicals the excipient should be studied, even as we do in the case of pills, and the special directions are beyond the limits of this work. Suffice it here to cite a typical combination for a mass intended for compression. For this purpose a medicinal substance is combined with one-tenth its weight of sugar and one-twentieth its weight of gum arabic. The mass is then mixed with a little water, granulated by passing through a coarse sieve, and then carefully dried. The dried granular mass is then sprayed with liquid petrolatum, ten or twelve drops being enough for a pound of mass. Such mass, on compression, yields a tablet that is fairly soluble, while the lubricant (liquid petrolatum) is squeezed out upon the surface of the compressed tablet, thus preventing the mass from sticking to the mold. For the purpose of preventing the mass from adhering to the dies of the machine, French chalk is sometimes used, although in general practice liquid petrolatum is more satisfactory. In making compressed tablets of quinine it is essential that the quinine be in a satisfactory condition before attempting to compress it, as otherwise they are almost sure to adhere to the mold. The E. quinine should be at first sufficiently dried, and then should be granulated and sprayed with paraffin oil. The apparatus used in compressing tablets consists, in its simplest form, of a steel cylinder pierced with a central bore, in which fits a plunger the end of which is convex, while at the other end of the cylinder fits the lower die, consisting of a cylindric piece of steel similar to the plunger, but shorter, terminating in a broad base. The cylinder is fitted to the lower die and the quantity of powder directed to be compressed is placed within the bore (Fig. 192). The plunger is then inserted, and the mass is then pressed against the lower die, forming a firm lenticular disk if the pressure be sufficient. The pressure is produced either by hitting the plunger with a hammer Fig. 194.-Stokes' "Eureka" tablet machine. or mallet or by means of an iron lever. This lever is sometimes in the form of a long handle acting from a hinge. Of these machines, the one in which compression is performed with a hammer has fallen into disuse, on account of the noise accompanying the process and its general unsatisfactory character. The lever machine is simple and inexpensive, and should be found in every pharmacy for the manufacture of extemporaneous tablets. An excellent modification of the lever compressor is shown in Fig. 193. A very good investment for the prescription department is the more expensive machine, as shown in Fig. 194. In these machines the tablet mass is blended, then placed in the appropriate funnel, and the mechanism is worked by a crank on the end of the circular wheel which transmits power not merely to cause the automatic rise and fall of the two dies, thus pressing the tablets, but the same movement also causes the throwing out of the funnel the quantity of the mass required for each tablet, and the flipping aside of the finished tablet. Such a tablet machine, known as the Stokes' "Eureka" machine, will readily make 100 tablets a minute. In large manufacturing concerns tablet machines having a higher efficiency are used, most notable of these being the Stokes'-Clark rotary tablet machine (Fig. 195). In this machine there is a series of dies (12 to 25) operating on a circular plate, and being mechanically raised and lowered during the revolution of the plate by means of cams; each revolution of the plate, therefore, produces 12 to 25 tablets, and as the machine can be run very rapidly, it is capable of turning out from 30,000 to 50,000 tablets an hour. TABLET TRITURATES These are flat disks containing medicinal substances, prepared by making a paste of the substance and forcing them into the orifices of a special tablet triturating machine. This machine, as will be seen in Fig. 196, consists of a plate of steel or gutta-percha pierced with a number of accurately bored holes, all of which are of the same size. The second part of the apparatus consists of a plate, which is studded with cylinders exactly fitting in the orifices of the perforated plate, and of sufficient length to project from to inch above the perforated plate when it is fitted on these cylinders. In using such a tablet triturate machine, the mass, as above stated, is made into a thin paste by treatment wth alcohol, and forced into the orifices of the perforated plate (which rests on a pill tile or glass plate) by rubbing with a spatula, and the mass is left in holes until firm. The plate is then placed over the studded plate and gradually pressed down over the projecting posts. As these posts pass into the orifices of the perforated plate the dry disks of medicinal substances rise upon the posts and finally emerge from the plate in which they were formed, and they are allowed to remain on the top of these posts until perfectly dried, when a gentle tilting of the apparatus, or tapping it with a spatula, will cause them to fall off. Tablet triturates were introduced in order to make preparations similar to compressed tablets, but more soluble by reason of their lesser compression. The disadvantage of these tablet triturates lies in the fact that when they become dry they are liable to disintegrate, and care must be taken in dispensing such in a pill box to provide a sufficient amount of cotton to prevent their shaking to and fro.. HYPODERMIC TABLETS These are frequently prepared by the same method of making tablet triturates. They consist of medicinal substances (intended to be administered subcutaneously) blended with a substance known to be completely soluble and inert. For this purpose sodium sulphate has been used, but now sugar of milk, especially that from goat's milk, is preferred. Most of the hypodermic tablets are now made by compression. TROCHES Troches or lozenges are disk-like masses of medicinal substances intended to be administered by slowly dissolving in the mouth. By |