An introduction to pharmaceutical chemistry / by John Attfield.

  • Attfield, John, 1835-1911.
Date:
1867
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An introduction to pharmaceutical chemistry / by John Attfield. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    than if performing experiments solely with an analytical or a synthetical object. Even those just entering on pharmacy will, by this mode of study, be able to attain a knowledge of chemistry without undue deduction of time from their other duties, or too lavish an expenditure in the purchase of apparatus. The chemical notation of the work is in accordance with modern theories. Equations illustrative of pharmacopoeial de- compositions have a name attached to every formula; this has been done for the convenience of those who have been accus- tomed to the old method of notation. Chemical nomenclature has been modernized to the extent of defining the alkaline and earthy salts as those of potassium, sodium, ammonium, barium, calcium, magnesium, and aluminium, instead of potash, soda, ammonia, baryta, lime, magnesia, and alumina. The author confidently believes that this change, extensively adopted by scientific men, will be accepted and become popular with phar- maceutical chemists, as it is a step in the direction of consis- tency, simplicity, and truth. Hitherto the names of salts have included metals and metallic oxides, as sulphate of copper and sulphate of potash; henceforward they will include the names of metals only, thus—sulphate of copper and sulphate of potassium. It is hoped that the numerous etymological references scat- tered through the following pages will be found useful, '^^ords in Greek have been rendered in English characters, letter for letter. The author is indebted to his friends, Joseph Ince, F.L.S., for much assistance and many kind suggestions during the revision of the proof-sheets, and Henry B. Brady, F.L.S., for the excellent drawings from which the Plates have been engraved. October 1867.