A treatise on therapeutics, and pharmacology or materia medica (Volume 1).

  • Wood, George B. (George Bacon), 1797-1879.
Date:
1856
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A treatise on therapeutics, and pharmacology or materia medica (Volume 1). 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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    Boluses are preparations similar to pills, but larger, and may be preferably used where the dose is large, and the patient can swallow them without difficulty. Their size is limited only by the patient's capacity of deglutition. 5. Lozenges, or Tkoches {iroc}dsci\ are solid masses of various shape and size, which may be conveniently held in the mouth, and there allowed slowly to dissolve. They are adapted for the adminis- tration of medicines not disagreeable to the taste, or of which the taste can be qualified or covered by agreeable additions. They should be made with materials which, without being wholly insolu- ble, are dissolved slowly by the saliva. Demulcent medicines are often administered in this form; and it is convenient in all cases in which the object is to sustain a slight impression steadily on the interior of the mouth and fauces. 6. Cataplasms, or Poultices {cataplasmata\ are intended only for external use. They should be soft and moist, somewhat tenacious, and of such a consistence as to accommodate themselves accurately to the part to which they are applied, without being disposed to spread, or to adhere firmly to the skin. They may be employed solely in reference to the sedative influence of the water they con- tain, or for the purpose of producing the peculiar impression of a medicine either on the surface, or, through the medium of absorp- tion, upon the system. 7. Ointments {unguenta\ Cerates {cerata), and Plasters (emjjlas- tra) are preparations also intended exclusively for external use. As the terms will be frequently used, the student should have a precise idea of their meaning at the outset. Ointments are soft solids, always containing fatty or oily matter, and capable of being applied by gentle rubbing, or, to use an appropriate phrase, by inunction. Cerates are of a firmer consistence, generally contain wax (cera), from which they derive their name, and are capable of being spread by means of a spatula, at common temperatures, upon suitable dress- ings, in which state they are usually applied. Plasters differ from cerates in possessing a still firmer consistence, requiring heat in order that they may be spread, and, though quite firm and brittle at common temperatures, becoming softish, tenacious, and adhesive at the temperature of the skin. Either of these preparations may be employed exclusively for local effect, or with a view to act upon the system. Por the latter purpose, the ointments are preferable when the cuticle remains; as, by the friction with which their appli- cation is often accompanied, they may be forced between the epi-