SECTION IV 



VETERINARY PHARMACY 



THIS section presents a brief notice of the art of prescribing 

 the administration of medicines, doses, and of such important 

 preparations and therapeutic agents as alkaloids, baths, 

 boluses, drenches, enemas, fomentations, fumigations, in- 

 halations, injections, plasters, powders, tinctures, etc., 

 arranged for convenience of reference, according to their 

 English names ; while appended are the tables of the 

 Pharmacopoeia, and of metric weights and measures. 



THE ART OP PRESCRIBING 



Successful prescribing obviously necessitates a competent 

 knowledge of the chemical and physiological actions of the 

 drugs used. Those only can be properly conjoined which 

 are chemically, pharmaceutically, and physiologically com- 

 patible. Text-books contain lists of medicines which may 

 fittingly be used together under the title of synergists ; 

 while lists are given of substances chemically incompatible 

 or physiologically antagonistic. 



The prescription should be as brief and simple as possible. 

 It should be explicit and clearly written. It may be ex- 

 pressed either in Latin or in English. The manner in which 

 the medicine is to be used should be specified. Important 

 instructions as to the regimen or diet of the patient are 

 sometimes appended. 



Prescriptions usually contain two or more of the following 

 four representative constituents : (a) The basis or active 

 ingredients. The practice of conjoining several active drugs 

 has wisely been abandoned. Occasionally, however, it 

 may be advantageous to give together two drugs producing 

 their effects in somewhat different ways. Thus, spasms 



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