DISINFECTANTS AND ANTISEPTICS. 2OJ 



this account is much used for cleansing infected wounds. 

 It deteriorates in strength so rapidly that only fresh solu- 

 tions of known strength should be used. 



Potassium Permanganate. Koch asserts that a 3 per 

 cent, solution will destroy anthrax spores in twenty-four 

 hours, but that a i per cent, solution cannot be depended 

 upon to kill pathogenic organisms. Its disinfectant value in 

 practice is very low on account of its ready decomposition 

 by inert material. In the dilute solutions usually used for 

 medicinal injections and irrigations no disinfectant action 

 occurs. 



lodoform. This substance possesses little if any disin- 

 fectant power. It is mildly antiseptic in moist wounds, 

 due to the gradual liberation of small quantities of iodine. 



Boric Acid. This material possesses practically no dis- 

 infectant power. It is a mild antiseptic when applied as 

 an undiluted powder to wounds. A saturated aqueous 

 solution is much used, and is weakly antiseptic. 



Essential Oils. Many of these bodies possess germi- 

 cidal value, notably the oils of cinnamon and cloves. The 

 oil of mustard is also a valuable disinfectant, but so irri- 

 tating that the pure oil cannot be used. The use of pow- 

 dered mustard in the autopsy-room will remove the foul 

 odor from the hands more rapidly and completely than any 

 other means. 



Coal Oil or Petroleum. While the disinfectant value of 

 this substance is slight, its use in destroying the larvae of 

 insects, such as the mosquito, has given it an important 

 position in preventing the spread of malaria and yellow 

 fever. A small amount poured on a stagnant pool rapidly 

 spreads over the surface, and effectually destroys such 

 larvae. 



Ferrous Sulphate (Copperas). This salt has been much 

 used, but possesses only feeble disinfectant powers. A 3 



