On the organic materia medica of the British pharmacopoeia : two lectures delivered before the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, on February 24th and March 23rd, 1864 / by Robert Bentley.

Date:
1864
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the organic materia medica of the British pharmacopoeia : two lectures delivered before the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, on February 24th and March 23rd, 1864 / by Robert Bentley. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    succeeding editions in enumerating the different preparations of each article of the materia medica, for in the present Pharmacopoeia there are many important ones omitted. It should be especially noticed, however, that those preparations only were intended to be enumerated, in which each article of the materia medica enters as an active ingredient. There is one result which I cannot forbear alluding to, and which will, I fear, to some extent be brought about by this enlargement of the materia medica, and that is, its use by students as a multum in parvo^ a kind of “ cram. I sincerely hope that such may not be the case, for if so, it will be a great evil; for important and useful as the short notices of the materia medica are, they can only serve as a foundation for further studies, or, as an abstract of what is es- sential for future use. He would, indeed, possess but a superficial knowledge who would retuse to proceed further than the Pharmacopceia taught him of ma- teria medica, and. to such a student, a large amount of most important and in- teresting matter would be entirely unknown. In the February number of the Pharmaceutical Journal, in an article enti- tled, “ Explanatory and Critical Notes on the British Pharmacopoeia,” I have given several tables, for the purpose of showing the great changes which the organic materia medica of the British Pharmacopoeia presents when compared with that of the last editions of the London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Pharmaco- poeias. From these tables it appears that no less than eighty-two organic sub- stances formerly included in the British Pharmacopoeias, and fifty-two plants and animals, have been altogether excluded from the present British Pharma- copoeia. Of these excluded substances, sixty-six were formerly officinal in the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia,in the'London, and in the Dublin; hence, in this respect, the British Pharmacopoeia presents fewer changes from the Dublin than from the London and Edinburgh. The great majority of organic substances excluded from the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia is doubt- less due to the long period which has elapsed since a new Pharmacopoeia was issued by the Edinburgh College of Physicians. Other tables have been given in the same article, which show that but tiventy- three new organic substances have been introduced into the materia medica and appendices of the British Pharmacopoeia. Having now given a summary of the changes in the present British Pharma- copoeia as compared with the last editions of the London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Pharmacopoeias, we proceed to notice the British Pharmacopoeia with reference more especially to the last London Pharmacopoeia. We commence by calling your attention to the following— Table of Organic Substances which toere officinal in the last London Pharmacopoeia^ hut which are excluded from the British Pharmacopoeia. Absmthium. Acetum (Britaniiicum). Aloe hepatica. Althgea. Amygdala amara. Aiiisum. Avena. Canella. Carota (Radix). Chimapliila, Cornu. Cydonium. Cyminum. Granatum (Rind of Fruit). Helleborus. Inula. Juniperus (Fructus). Lactuca saliva. Laurus. Maranta. Mentha piperita (Herba). Mentha viridis (Ilerba). Morphise Acetas. Mucuna. Oleum Fceniculi. Ovi Vitellus. Petroleiun. Piper longum. Pix. Pulegium.