VOLUMETRIC SYSTEM FOR MEDICINE. . 6S 



Graham, Robert F. Scott, P. K. Stern, Thomas Pinkney and 

 Thomas McCraken. 



Dr. W. B. Nesbitt read a paper on " The Volumetric 

 System in Materia Medica." ' 



In bringing the following paper before you I am conscious cf its 

 many imperfections, and that it is not as yet a perfect system, yet I 

 hope you will bear with me, and that in the discussion which I hope 

 it will be its merit to engender, I may I'eceive such hints and 

 ci'iticisms as will enable me to place my system on a still more 

 pi'acticable basis. 



The first thing that the student of Materia Medica is struck with, 

 is the almost illimitable number of drugs and preparations, whose 

 number is only comparable with the likewise illimitable and varied 

 doses. It is this heterogenous system of dosage that I would trj" to 

 place on a more satisfact6ry basis. We will just glance at a few of 

 the preparations and their doses. We will commence with the 

 inorganic salts. This is what we find : — 



Potassic Carbonate 10 — 30 grs. Potassic Bromide 5 — 30 ers. 



" Bicarbonate 10—40 



Liquor Potasste 15 — 60 



Potassic Permanganate 1 — 2 



" Iodide 2—10 



" Tartras acid 20—60 



Citras 20—60 " 



Acetas 10—60 " 



Chloras 10—30 " 



Sulphurate 3 — 8 " ' 



Nitras 10—30 " 



Sulphas 15—60 " 



I have chosen the salts of Potash simply because they come first in 

 the book most iised by students, i. e. Mitchell Brown's Materia 

 Medica. All these preparations when prescribed by the Physician, 

 are first tritui-ated in the mortar for such as are in the form of xtals, 

 and then dissolved in water, water being almost invariably the 

 medium for holding the different drugs in solution, sometimes as in 

 the case of Quinine, a little sulphuric acid is added to assist the dis- 

 solving. 



Now if these drugs were kept in solution by physicians and phar- 

 macies, and the strength of each so graduated that the dose of all 

 would be the same, you have the principle of the system. For in- 

 stance, we will take two or three of the above mentioned salts, 



