Vapors (Vapores) and Inhalations (Inhalationes),—are medicines in the form of a vapor, a gas or an atomized spray, to be inhaled by the patient for their local action on the respiratory tract. The well-known steam-atomizer is the agent by which most of these preparations are administered, though many substances may be inhaled from the surface of hot-water, from a sponge in a bottle surrounded by a hot cloth, or from a heated shovel. They are prescribed in the usual manner, as follows: Stimulant Inhalation. R. Olei Cubebæ, Magnesii Carbonat., : M. Sig.-A teaspoonful in a pint of water at 150° F., for each inhalation. M. Sig. Use one-half in the cup of a steam-atomizer for each inhala Oil of Pine. R. Ol. Pini Sylvestris, Magnesii Carb., tion. M. Sig.-A teaspoonful on a pint of hot water for each inhalation. M. Sig.-Pour slowly on a hot shovel in the sick-room, keeping the vapor confined therein. The official Charta Potassii Nitratis, Nitre-paper (see ante, page 464), is a preparation intended for use as an inhalation, its vapors while burning being taken into the lungs. pharmaceutist has become a lost art. The official plasters are enumerated and described on page 464, and may be ordered by prescription in the manner illustrated below. Blisters may be produced by the application of any preparation of Cantharides sufficiently strong for the purpose. Either of the official Cerates of Cantharides (see page 120), may be spread on Adhesive Plaster (Emplastrum Resina), making a blistering plaster; or Cantharidal Collodion (see page 120), may be painted over the surface. Plasters are usually ordered by the square inch, but a model of the shape and size may be drawn on paper, and the plaster be directed to conform thereto, as in the first of the following prescriptions. Two of the official Papers (Chartæ) are practically plasters, viz.-Charta Cantharidis and Charta Sinapis. Emplastrum Vesicatorium. Sig.-Blistering Plaster, to be applied over the region of the heart. Counter-irritant and Anodyne. B. Charta Sinapis, Emplas. Belladonnæ, äā, 3′′×6". Sig. Apply the mustard paper first, to be followed by the plaster when the surface has been well reddened. Poultices (Cataplasmata),-are usually prepared at the residence of the patient, the ingredients only being ordered from the druggist. They are generally employed as a means of applying heat and moisture to a certain part of the body, but are sometimes medicated with anodyne, counter-irritant or disinfectant agents. Poultices are not official in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, but are in the British, the following list including all so recognized. Cataplasma Carbonis,-Wood Charcoal 1, Crumb of Bread 4, Linseed Meal 3, Boiling Water 20 parts. Cataplasma Conii,-Hemlock-juice 1, evaporated to half its volume, Linseed Meal 4, Boiling Water 10 parts. Cataplasma Fermenti,-Beer Yeast 3, Wheaten Flour 7, Water at 100° F., 3 parts. Cataplasma Lini,-Linseed Meal 2, Boiling Water 5 parts, mixed with constant stirring. Cataplasma Sinapis,-Mustard, Linseed Meal, Boiling Water and Water, of each a sufficiency. Cataplasma Soda Chlorinata,-Solution of Chlorinated Soda 1, Linseed Meal 2, Boiling Water 4 parts. Paints (Pigmenta),-are preparations for external use, which cannot be classed with the preceding. They are generally prescribed in skin-diseases, for use over inflamed joints, or for application to the throat with a camel's-hair brush. Vapors (Vapores) and Inhalations (Inhalationes),—are medicines in the form of a vapor, a gas or an atomized spray, to be inhaled by the patient for their local action on the respiratory tract. The well-known steam-atomizer is the agent by which most of these preparations are administered, though many substances may be inhaled from the surface of hot-water, from a sponge in a bottle surrounded by a hot cloth, or from a heated shovel. They are prescribed in the usual manner, as follows: Magnesii Carb., 3ij. R. Ol. Picis Liquidæ, M. Sig.-Pour slowly on a hot M. Sig.-A teaspoonful on a pint shovel in the sick-room, keeping the of hot water for each inhalation. vapor confined therein. The official Charta Potassii Nitratis, Nitre-paper (see ante, page 464), is a preparation intended for use as an inhalation, its vapors while burning being taken into the lungs. PART III. SPECIAL THERAPEUTICS. Applied Therapeutics may be studied either with the various therapeutic agents as the objects of chief consideration, as in the first part of this work; or with the different diseases and morbid conditions forming the objects of study in respect to their modification and treatment by medicines. In the following pages the latter method is followed, the therapeutics of each affection being exhibited in the form of an Analytical Index to the recognized text-books of the day. Every indication for the use of a drug, or statement regarding its value, is followed by the initial (in parentheses) of its author: these references enabling the book to be used as an index to the authorities, for more strict differentiation between indicated remedies,-while the brief analyses given include enough to make each section a complete synopsis of the most advanced therapeutics of the disease forming its title. The principal authors to whom references are made, and the various initials indicating them, are comprised in the following list. REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY. (A.) Aitken.-The Science and Practice of Medicine, 7th edition, revised, Philadelphia, 1885. (Ag.) Agnew.-The Principles and Practice of Surgery, Philadelphia, 1878, 3 vols. (B.) Bartholow.-Materia Medica and Therapeutics, 5th edition, New York, 1884. (Br.) Brunton.-Pharmacology, Therapeutics and Materia Medica, Philadelphia, 1885. (C.) Carter.-A Practical Treatise on Diseases of the Eye, edited by Green, Philadelphia, 1880. (Cl.) Clarke.—A Manual of the Practice of Surgery, New York, 1881. (D.) Druitt.-A Manual of Modern Surgery, 12th edition, London, 1882. (E.) Emmet.-Principles and Practice of Gynecology, 3d edition, Philadelphia, 1884. |