392 FORMALDEHYDE 



hundred may be used as an antiseptic wash for the hands, 

 operation area, and accidental wounds. A 2 per cent, 

 solution is recommended as an application for ringworm. 

 Stronger solutions (2 to 5 per cent.) are employed in the 

 treatment of canker of the horse's feet ; to preserve histo- 

 logical, botanical, and pathological specimens, and to dis- 

 infect stables and cowsheds. Walter and Schlossmann 

 having made critical tests of the efficiency of various methods 

 of disinfection, consider that formaldehyde in presence of 

 sufficient water, deserves preference over other disinfectants. 

 Rational and practical disinfection requires rapid action 

 with thorough penetration, but without injury of the objects 

 under treatment. To meet these conditions, glycoformal, 

 a mixture of an aqueous solution of formaldehyde and 

 glycerin, has been introduced. The glycerin, attracting 

 moisture, ensures the effectiveness of every particle of 

 formaldehyde. Glycoformal, applied by means of an 

 atomiser, may be used to disinfect stables (Coblentz). 



Lysoform is a combination of formaldehyde and soap, 

 containing 18 to 20 per cent, of formalin. It is a clear 

 liquid miscible with water, to which it imparts a slight 

 milky appearance. Solutions of 3 per cent, do not irritate 

 the hands or damage instruments. 



Urotropine (Hexamethylenetetramine, C 6 H 12 N 4 ), obtained 

 by combining ammonia and formaldehyde, is a colourless, 

 crystalline powder, soluble in water and alcohol ; insoluble 

 in ether ; and employed as a solvent of uric acid and urates. 

 It is said to undergo decomposition in the kidneys, and 

 to act as a powerful urinary disinfectant. Doses, for 

 the dog, grs. iii. to grs. xv. per day, given well diluted in 

 water. 



Formaldehyde forms an important constituent of the 

 following powders : glutol, a combination of gelatin and 

 formaldehyde, dried and reduced to powder, and employed 

 as an antiseptic dry dressing for wounds : amyloform, a 

 condensation product of formaldehyde with starch, forming 

 a non-poisonous, white, odourless, insoluble powder, intro- 

 duced as a substitute for iodoform ; and amyloiodoform, a 

 compound of starch, iodine, and formaldehyde, employed 

 as an antiseptic dry dressing. 



