Elements of pharmacy, materia medica, and therapeutics / by William Whitla.

  • Whitla William, Sir, 1851-1933.
Date:
1898
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Elements of pharmacy, materia medica, and therapeutics / by William Whitla. 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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    collecting it with others where the dispenser is to work, and putting it hack after he has finished, its label will be certain to fie examined at least thru times. The skilful compounder will make up a mixture more exjieditiously by taking the measure- glass in the left hand, as if about to use it as previously described, and the prescription between the middle two fingers of the same hand, and, proceeding with his right hand entirely free, walking to and fro, he can compound his mixture a* quickly and accurately as if all were within reach of his hand- as they should be when }n»sible. This is well shown in Figure J. Care is requisite to prevent the paper being soiled. As regards the ordtr in mixing liquids for a simple mixture it is not of so much importance as in making emulsions, and often the ingredients can lie mixed in the order in which they are written. It is a good plan to pour the tinctures or spirituous fluids (as they are measured) into the bottle in which the mixture is to be made, mix them, and then add the syrups or essences, and finally fill up with the water or infusion ordered; in this way a better mixture is often made than if the tinctures were each singly added to a large body of water, when their resinous principles would be sure to lie precipitated. Supjiose in a prescription of eight ounces of mixture, cqntaining two ounces of tinctures, one ounce of mucilage, and five ounces of water, if the dispenser added the mucilage to the undiluted tincture*, an unsightly mess would lie the rcMilt ; the mucilage should either he added last, or largely diluted with the w ater. before adding the tinctures ; but the difficulty about the ordtr of mixing ingredient* will l>e found to l>e more imaginary than real a little common sense and exjKrietice will soon overcome it. There is, however, one rule which is almost universally neglected, and it is of importance : — If there lie a very poisonous substance, like I’rii'sic acid, strychnine, aconite, arsenic, corrosive sublimate, ., ordered in i mixture, it should l>e put in the /at/ thing before corking, unless there be some reason for the contrary. The force ol this is obvious, for, if this t>e the dispenser's habit or rule, the possibility of his putting it in twice is out of the question ; and often when the attention is unavoidably arrested, the ablest will forget what he has just accomplished. All mixtures should he briskly shaken before the label is put on, to ensure thorough incorporation. Distilled water should lie invariably used ; no doubt, in many instances, it will be of little moment, but a mixture made at one time with distilled water and at another with fountain water, will taste differently ; and, on the whole, it will lie found advisable to use it to insure uniformity. Should a mixture be filtered if not bright and clear ? Unless specially ordered it should not, or unless some of the articles