LOCAL ANAESTHETICS 349 



HC _ CH 



NH 2 . C/ \COO . CH 2 . CH 2 . N(C 2 H 5 ) 2 HC1 



HC CH 



Novocine. 



Another group of local anaesthetics may be regarded as 

 phenetidine derivatives. The slight analgesic action of 

 phenetidine compounds was found to be considerably increased 

 by combining two molecules ; and the hydrochloride of one 

 compound thus formed has been used in surgical practice. 

 It is known as holocaine, and is obtained by condensing 

 p.phenetidine and phenacetin and converting the product into 

 the hydrochloride. 1 Chemically it is diethoxy-diphenyl- 

 ethenylamide hydrochloride. 



C . N : C(CH 3 ) . HN . C 



HC/NcH 



C . OC 2 H 5 C . OC 2 H 5 



Holocaine (base) 



The last group of substances requiring notice was intro- 

 duced by Fourneau. 2 In the course of a chemical investiga- 

 tion of some new amino-alcohols he found that they possessed 

 a well-marked local anaesthetic action. One of them, now 

 known as stovaine the hydrochloride of dimethyl-amino- 

 dimethyl-ethyl-carbinol benzoic acid ester was investigated 

 clinically and pharmacologically by Lapersonne, 3 Chaput, 4 

 Launois and Billon, 5 and Pouchet, 6 and as a result of their 

 researches has been largely used in practice. By the introduc- 

 tion of a second dimethyl-amino group in place of a hydrogen 



1 Centralblatt./. pract. Augenheilk., 1897, pp. 30, 53, 55. 



2 Comptes Rendus de fAcad. des Sci., cxxxviii., p. 767 (1904). 



3 Presse Medicale, 1904, p. 233. 



Compt. Rend. Soc. de Biol., Ivi. p. 770 (1904). 



Compt. Rend, de I'Acad. des Sci., cxxxviii. p. 1360 (1904). 



Butt. Acad. de Med. (3), lii. p. 110 (1904). 



