VOLUMETRIC SYSTEM FOR MEDICINE. 1 63 



Graham, Robert F. Scott, P. K. Stern, Thomas Pinkney and 

 Thomas McCraken. 



Dr. W. B. Nesbitt read a paper on " The Voknnctric 

 S\stem in Materia Medica." 



In bringing the following pajjer before 3'ou I am conscious ( f its 

 many impei'fections, and that it is not as yet a perfect system, yet I 

 hope you will bear with me, and that in the discussion which I ho])e 

 it will be its merit to engender, I may receive such hints and 

 criticisms as will enable me to place my system on a still moi-e 

 practicable basis. 



TliH first thing that the student of Materia Medica is struck with, 

 is the almost illimitable number of drugs and preparations, whose 

 number is only comparable with the likewise illimitable and varied 

 doses. It is this heterogenous system of dosage that I would try to 

 place on'a more satisfactory basis. We will just glance at a few of 

 the preparations and their doses. We will commence with the 

 inorganic salts. This is what we find : — 



Potassic Carbonate 10 — 30 grs. Potassic Bromide 5 — 30 grs. 



" Bicarbonate 10—40 " " Citras 20—60 " 



Liquor Potasst>? 15-60 " " Acetas 10—60 " 



Potassic Permanganate 1 — 2 " " Chloras 10 — 30 " 



" Iodide 2—10 " " Sulphurate 3— 8 " 



" Tartras acid 20—60 " " Nitras 10—30 " 



" Sulphas 15—60 " 



I have chosen the salts of Potash simply because they come first in 

 the book most used by students, i. e. Mitchell Brown's Materia 

 Medica. All these preparations when prescribed by the Physician, 

 are first triturated in the mortar for such as are in the form of xtals, 

 and then dissolved in water, water being almost invariably the 

 medium for holding the different drugs in solution, sometimes as in 

 the case of Quinine, a little sulphuric acid is added to assist the dis- 

 solving. 



Now if these drugs were kept in solution by ])hysicians and phar- 

 macies, and the strength of each so graduated that the dose of all 

 would be the same, you have the principle of the system. For in- 

 stance, we will take two or three of the above mentioned salts, 



