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

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

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Elements of pharmacy, materia medica, and therapeutics / by William Whitla. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    INTRODUCTION. -O- The term Materia Medica implies a description of the agents used in the treatment of disease, their preparation, actions, and uses ; but owing to the rapid advance made in our knowledge of remedies, special terms are now used to designate the different departments in this extensive subject; and we confine the words Materia Medica to the description of remedies, their origin, source, distribution, chemical composition, and the methods by which they are obtained, &c.. Pharmacy to the methods by which they are prepared for administration. Pharmacology to the science of their action on 2l healthy organism, and Therapeutics to their application in the treatment of disease. The term Materia Medica, even so restricted in its application, embraces Botany, Zoology, and Chemistry, and, indeed, is built up of these sciences. The term Pharmacodynamics is occasionally used, even by modern writers, when referring to Pharmacology ; and the old term Pharmacognosy is sometimes retained in text-books as a synonym of Materia Medica. Both these terms can be advantageously dispensed with. We may divide the science and art of Pharmacy into two distinct divisions: Extemporaneous Pharmacy, and Official Pharmacy. The first head will include the various operations of com- pounding and dispensing remedies from the prescriptions of the physician, and under Official Pharmacy will be briefly defined the different processes mentioned in the British Pharmacopoeia in the directions given for the preparation of its numerous drugs and formulae.