82 Medical Chemistry. 
could not fail deeply to interest society at large, as well as 
the faculty of medicine. As far as I am informed, these re- 
searches have not been so extensively prosecuted m the 
United States as could be desired,*—partly from the diffi- 
culty of obtaining the acid, which is no where sold in the 
shops, and which can be prepared only by a practical chem- 
ist; and partly, in all probability, from negligence and in- 
credulity. Having received from Paris, a recent publica- 
tion by Dr. Magendi ie, on this subject,f containing many 
additional facts, ence by himself, and by various other 
enlightened men, in different countries ; ; and, not having 
met with any translation of, or abstract ane it, I ree 
thought, that I could not do better, than to present the sub- 
stance of this new memoir to my readers, partly by trans- 
lation and partly by abstract, and analysis.—For obvious 
reasons, | have not drawn any thing from the first memoir 
of Dr. Magendie, which he has republished in due connex- 
ion with his present work; stil, it will be useful to remem- 
ber, that the conclusions which he drew at that time, from 
his experiments, on prussic acid were : 
1. That pure prussic acid is eminently poisonous and 
altogether improper to be used in medicine. 
2. That, diluted with, water, it can be advantageously 
used for the cure of nervous and chronic coughs. 
3. That it may be useful in the palliatiwe treatment of 
phthasis, by diminishing the intensity and frequency of the 
cough—moderating the expectoration and favouring sleep, 
4. That there is some reason to hope, that it may be- 
come useful in the curative treatment of phthisis pulmonalis, 
especially when it has not yet passed its first stage. 
* Some favourable results were obtained by my late lamented friend Dr. 
E. D. Smith, Professor of Chemistry &c. in the college of South Carolina; 
and, being published in the newspapers, deservedly excited a good deal of 
attention. A few partial trials in phthisis and asthma have been made by 
some of the eae in New-Haven and generally with favourable results: 
fam not informed how far the subject has been prosecuted in our larger 
cities. If may be respectfully suggested to the faculty that on account of the 
peculiarly volatile and decomposahie nature of prussic acid, particular atten- 
tion is necessary to ascertain, whether the acid used is of suficient strength: 
it should have very decidedly the odour ef peach blossoms, but more in- 
tense, so as to be rather oppressive, if much of the vapour gets into the nos- 
trils. 
+ Recherches physiologiques et cliniques sur l'emploi de PAcide Prus- 
sigue ou Hydro—cyanique, dans le traitement des maladies de poitrine ef 
particuligrement dans celui de la Phthisie pulmonaire, &¢.—Paris, 1§19. 
