Report on the recent contributions of chemistry to the medical profession : read before the Pathological Society of Baltimore, June 16, 1857 / by Lewis H. Steiner.

  • Steiner, Lewis H. (Lewis Henry), 1827-1892.
Date:
1857
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report on the recent contributions of chemistry to the medical profession : read before the Pathological Society of Baltimore, June 16, 1857 / by Lewis H. Steiner. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    they then distill over together. In the receiver the con- densed glycerine, from its higher specific gravity, sinks below the fat acids. This can be afterwards purified and concentrated, by redistillation and evaporation. The profession is already aware of its application as a soothing and protecting agent in cases of chapped hands, or injuries resulting from exposure to the sun, how well adapt- ed it is to all affections <tf the skin where it is necessary that this should be kept moist, and how serviceable it has been in the treatment of various diseases of the car, as sug- gested by Wakely of London in 1S49. Quite a number of new applications have been proposed lately. It had been applied as a dressing to wounds, with results that show it possessed of an antiseptic property, which makes it a most valuable agent in hospitals where the foul emanations from old ulcers can thus be measurably restrained. M. Demar- quay* has been making a series of experiments with regard to its action in preserving organic matters from decay. Beef and mutton were immersed in glycerine and kept for 2 months without any perceptible modification. These ex- periments coincided with those of Wilson, who found that fish could be preserved in it without any alteration of color, and the preservation was just as perfect if they were cleansed and only wrapped in a cloth which had been saturated with glycerine. M. Demarquay further tried the effects glycerine would have when injected into the arteries. On Nov. 19 the foot of a man who had died on the 13th was injected with glycerine. On the 21st of the following month it presented a natural appearance; the articulations were flex- ible; the tissues had natural firmness. These experiments were repeated on different portions of the body with the same effect. Finally he injected two still-born infants with glycerine, through the umbilical cord, and up to the time of his communication the preservation was undoubted. The query now is, as to the length of time that this preservative * Journal de CLimie Medicale, ii, 169.