C. U. C. p. ALUMNI JOURNAL 



35 



Antiseptic Property of Hydriodic Acid. 



According to R. Lettieri hydriodic acid 

 is a most excellent disinfectant for 

 wounds. He claims that the presence of 

 this acid in an old sample of tincture of 

 iodine, is responsible to a great extent 

 for the superiorit}- of its action when 

 compared with that of a freshly prepared 

 sample. He calls especial attention to 

 the anti-putrefactive properties of this 

 acid. He employs the acid in the form 

 of a 2 per cent, wash, and in the form of 

 a 0.50 per cent, gauze. 



Cantharidin in Galenicals. 



W. Hinz has conducted a series of 

 investigations in order to determine 

 whether cantharidin could be properly 

 employed as a substitute for the various 

 cantharidal preparations. As a result of 

 his experiments he has arrived at the 

 conclusion that pure cantharidin can be 

 used advantageously in place of the cor- 

 responding amount of cantharidal collo- 

 dion or cantharidal cerate. He suggests 

 that the pure cantharidin be mixed with 

 various ointment vehicles, so that the 

 resulting ointment will contain from 0.01 

 gm. to 0.02 gm. in each 100 gm. 



Plaster Paris Bandages. 



A. Astrus and A. Juillet have pub- 

 lished some observations relative to the 

 use of plaster of paris in bandaging. 

 The authors claim that usually an exces- 

 sive quantity of water is employed, and 

 that in many instances the plaster had 

 not been sufficiently dehydrated to obtain 

 the best results. 



They suggest that 60 grammes of wa- 

 ter, added to 100 grammes of plaster of 

 good quality, are ample to obtain best 

 results. They claim that the presence of 

 althaea, acacia, tragacanth, salep or lin- 

 seed will retard the hardening process. 

 The presence of alum or sodium chloride 

 will hasten the hardening process. The 

 rise in temperature observed during the 

 process of hardening is in direct propor- 

 tion to the purity and dehydration of the 

 plaster of paris. The presence of pow- 

 dered althaea not only lessens the in- 

 tensity of the reaction, but also retards 

 it, while on the other hand the presence 

 of powdered alum or sodium chloride 

 acts in the opposite direction. The au- 

 thors claim to have noted instances 

 where the rise in temperature was suf- 

 ficiently great to produce discomfort to 

 th-e patient. 



Bolus Alba. 



Bolus alba sterilisata, is recommended 

 as a cheap substitute for the various anti- 

 phlogistins For veterinary practice Kran- 

 ch recommends the following: 4 parts of 

 bolus alba and 5 parts of glycerin are thor- 

 oughly mixed and then heated at a tem- 

 perature sufficiently high to destroy 

 micro-organisms. After cooling to 

 about 50° C, the paste is at once applied, 

 and covered with a layer of cotton and. 

 bandage. It is claimed that if properly 

 applied and protected the paste will hold 

 its warmth for a considerable period. 



Acetylcholin. 



H. H. Dale and A. J. Ewins claim to 

 have found still another constituent of 

 ergot, which they name Acetylcholin. It 

 is said that this substance has the prop- 

 erty of dilating the smaller blood vessels, 

 but does not affect the uterus. 



