New remedies : with formulae for their preparation and administration / By Robley Dunglison.

  • Dunglison, Robley, 1798-1869.
Date:
1856
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: New remedies : with formulae for their preparation and administration / By Robley Dunglison. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

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    NEW REMEDIES. I. AC'TDUM ACE'TICUM EMPYREUMAT'ICUM. Stnontmes. Acidum Pyro-aceticum seu Ligni Pyro-oleosum seu Pyrolignosuni seu Pyroxylicum, Acetum Ligneum seu Pyrolignosum seu Lignoruru Ertipyreumaticum, Pyroligneous, and Pyrolignic Acid. French. Acide Pyro-acetique, A. Pyrolignique, A. Pyroligneux, Vinaigre de Bois. German. Brenzliche oder brandige Holzsaure; Holzsaure; Holzessig: Holzessigsaure. Pyroligneous acid, although brought much into notice—revived as it were—in recent times, is by no means the product of those times exclusively. The cedria, with which the Egyptians embalmed the bodies of the dead, it is presumed, was identical with it. Pliny re- commends cedria, or the oil of tar got from the cedar, in toothach,1 and Galen unites with him.2 The virtues of pyroligneous acid are often also referred to by Boerhaave.3 METHOD OF PREPARING. Pyroligneous acid is prepared in chemical laboratories by the dry distillation of wood, especially of hard wood, which is placed in an iron retort heated to redness. First of all, there passes over a light brown or greenish fluid, which contains some empyreumatic oil; to this succeeds the pyroligneous acid, which is formed during distillation. If the distillation be continued, more empyreumatic oil passes over, and lastly tar. The chief constituent of pyroligneous acid is vinegar, which can be deprived of its empyreumatic constituents by rectification with fine porous animal charcoal. Besides vinegar, it contains empyreumatic oil [pyrelain;) empyreumatic resin (pyrretin,) a peculiar matter con- taining nitrogen, and similar to an extract (empyreumatic extract,) and spirit of tar (spiritus pyrolignicus.) Reichenbach discovered in it the new substance creasote,4 which seems to be the most important ingredient,—its medicinal efficacy appearing to be dependent upon that substance. Impure pyroligneous acid is of a brownish colour, and of an acid smoky smell and taste. This is the preparation which is generally 1Hi8t. Nat. xxxiv. 11. 2 De Simpl. Medic. Facult. lib. vii. See Covmack on Creasote, p. 59. Edinburgh, 1836. 3Riecke, Die neuern Arzneimittel. u. s. W. S. 6, Stuttgart, 1837. *■ See the article Creasote. 3