VI. 



CONSIDERATION OF CARBON COMPOUNDS, 

 OR ORGANIC CHEMISTRY. 



38. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. ELEMENTARY ANALYSIS. 



Definition of organic chemistry. The term organic chemistry 

 was originally applied to the consideration of compounds formed in 

 plants and in the bodies of animals, and these compounds were 

 believed to be created by a mysterious power, called " vital force/' 

 supposed to reside in the living organism. 



This assumption was partly justified by the failure of the earlier 

 attempts to produce these compounds by artificial means, and also by 

 the fact that the peculiar character of the compounds, and the 

 numerous changes which they constantly undergo in nature, could 

 not be sufficiently explained by the experimental methods . then 

 known, and the laws then established. 



It was in accordance with these views that a strict distinction was 

 made between inorganic and organic compounds, and accordingly 

 between inorganic and organic chemistry, the latter branch of the 

 science considering the substances formed in the living organism 

 and those compounds which were produced by their decomposition. 



Since that time it has been shown that many substances which 

 formerly were believed to be exclusively produced in the living 

 organism, under the influence of the so-called vital force, can be 

 formed artificially from inorganic matter, or by direct combination 

 of the elements. It was in consequence of this fact that the theory 

 of the supposed " vital force," by which organic substances could be 

 formed exclusively, had to be abandoned. 



An organic compound, according to modern views, is simply a 

 compound of carbon generally containing hydrogen, frequently also 

 oxygen and nitrogen, and sometimes other elements. 



Organic chemistry may consequently be defined as the chemistry of 

 \ carbon compounds. The old familiar terms, organic compounds and 

 organic chemistry, are, however, still in general use. 



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