PRESCRIPTION WRITING. 205 



circulates in the blood unchanged. It has been rec- 

 ommended in rheumatism and azoturia. Dose: JJ., 

 3i.-iij.; D., gr. v.-xv. 

 Barii Chloridum. See under Barium Chloride. 



PRESCRIPTION WRITING. 



Extemporaneous prescriptions are formulae written 

 by the veterinarian to meet the requirements of an in- 

 dividual case. They are divided into four parts ; viz. : 



1. Superscription — consisting of a specification of 

 the specie of the animal {i.e., whether horse, cow, or 

 dog, etc.), and the owner's name, the date, and the 

 sign B or Rp. — meaning Take! or Take thou! 



2. Inscription — which is the real body of the pre- 

 scription itself, and consisting of one or more of the 

 following subdivisions : (a) Basis or chief ingredient ; 

 {h) adjuvant, to assist the action of the basis; (c) 

 corrective, to correct some injurious or undesirable 

 quality of the other ingredients ; {d) excipient or ve- 

 hicle, which give it form or bulk. 



3. Subscription — the directions to the compounder, 

 usually expressed in Latin. 



4. Signature — the directions for the administration 

 of the medicine, written in English or Latin, and the 

 signature of the prescriber. 



A prescription may contain but one or two ingre- 

 dients, but nevertheless should be written out in the 

 same manner. Simplicity is a very good point in 

 prescribing, but a judicious blending of the actions 

 of several drugs frequently gives a more decided and 



