INTRODUCTION 
xhi 
those purposes it has continued to be used. At the present time, under suit- 
able circumstances, boracic lotion (saturated solution of boracic acid in water). 
boracic lint, and boracic ointment are commonly employed. Salicylic acid was 
much praised by Thiersch, and was consequently carefully tested by Lister, but 
it was found to be open to many objections, especially that it was irritating to 
the wounds, and inefficient as an antiseptic. It is only used now in the form 
of salicylic wool and salicylic ointment. Thymol was for a time a favourite anti- 
“septic with some surgeons, but after testing it in various ways it was rejected 
as being untrustworthy. Preparations of eucalyptus also failed to meet the 
requirements, and it only remains in use in the form of ointment, which is 
still occasionally employed, chiefly in the treatment of burns. Acetate of alumina 
was used to a considerable extent at one time, but on putting it to a careful test 
it also was rejected. | 
After the publication of Koch’s earlier papers on disinfection, the various 
mercurial salts were examined, and they form a very essential part of the anti- 
septic equipment at the present time. A good deal of time was expended in 
testing the relative merits of lotions of the biniodide and perchloride of mercury : 
the conclusion reached was that, from every point of view, especially in respect 
to its efficiency as an antiseptic and lesser tendency to irritate the skin and the 
wound, the perchloride was superior to the biniodide. The strength of the 
perchloride lotions employed at an early period, I-2000 and I-4000, were the 
strengths used by Lister at the end of his work, and are still extensively employed. 
A great deal of labour was also expended on finding a suitable mercurial dressing 
which should, on the one hand, be non-irritating to the skin, and on the other 
would provide a sufficient store of antiseptic to obviate the necessity of frequent 
changing of dressings, even when the discharge was considerable. The record 
of several of these attempts will be found in the published papers ; for example, 
we have! a description of an attempt to form a gauze with a combination of 
perchloride of mercury and albumen. This again, gave place* to a gauze 
containing the double chloride of mercury and ammonium (sal alembroth). 
Sal alembroth, however, had the defect of being very soluble in the serum of 
the discharges, and the solution so formed was very apt to irritate the skin ; it 
eventually gave place to the double cyanide of mercury and zinc, which was quite 
unirritating, and while sufficiently soluble in blood to give to the gauze charged 
with it sufficient antiseptic power to inhibit the growth of microbes, was yet 
not so soluble as to be washed out of the dressing by the discharges, however 
copious. An aniline dye added to the salt was found to have the double advan- 
} 
tage of fixing the double cyanide in the gauze, so that it did not shake out When 
*  Wolg.1y pp. 3038 2 Vol. ii, | 
