The physiology and therapeutics of the Harrogate waters, baths, and climate applied to the treatment of chronic disease / by William Bain and Wilfrid Edgecombe.

  • Bain, William.
Date:
1905
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The physiology and therapeutics of the Harrogate waters, baths, and climate applied to the treatment of chronic disease / by William Bain and Wilfrid Edgecombe. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

    60/336 (page 44)
    A number of drugs have been recommended for their solvent power on biurate of sodium, whUe others have been vetoed in the treatment of gout on account of their supposed inhibitory effect on the solvency of this salt. In connection with the latter point, the sodium salts have been much discussed. Experiments in vitro showed that if sodium chloride were added to distilled water or blood serum containing biurate, the solubihty of the latter was somewhat diminished. From these experiments it was inferred that mineral waters with a small content of sodium salts were better solvents of biurate than those containing a moderate amount of these salts. A further inference was that the waters with a small content of sodium salts were the more beneficial in cases of gouty deposits, but this inference cannot be accepted. It must be borne in mind that mineral waters are not simple saline solutions, but may contain one or more substances modifying the influence of the sodium salts on the solubility of biurate. This point is exemplified by Luff's chemical experiments with the mineral ash of spinach: the ash proved specially solvent, although rich in sodium salts. A series of experiments was carried out by one of us ^ to test the solvent power of various mineral waters con- taining different proportions of the sodium salts. The methods employed are described in the paper, and closely followed those adopted by Sir William Eoberts and Dr. Luff. The results are given in the appended tables:— 1 Bain, The Solvent Action of certain British and Foreign Mineral Waters on the Biurate of Sodium, British Medical Journal, 1899.