CHAPTEE II 

 PHARMACY 



Pharmacy is the science and art of preparing, compounding and 

 dispensing drugs. The objects of pharmacy are so obvious that they 

 need not be pointed put in this place. In order to have uniformity 

 in the preparations obtained from the different shops, practically 

 all civilized countries have standards, established by law, to which 

 the drugs and their preparations must conform. 



Pharmacopoeia. The books in which these standards are given 

 are usually called pharmacopoeias. The first pharmacopoeia of the 

 United States was published in 1820 and is revised every ten years 

 by a committee of physicians and pharmacists. The preparations 

 made according to this book are called official. The present Ninth 

 Decennial revision appeared in August and became official in Sep- 

 tember, 1916. The pharmacopoeia gives, first, the Latin title of the 

 drug, followed by the English name, official abbreviation and syno- 

 nyms. A short concise definition of the drug is given. This is 

 followed by the characteristics and tests by which the identity and 

 purity of the drug may be recognized and finally in what doses 

 (human) it may be administered. 



Since the pharmacopoeia is intended as a concise standard work of 

 reference, it does not include all the material used in medicine nor 

 does it go into detail concerning the drugs treated. Consequently in 

 various countries other books have come into use, namely, dispen- 

 satories. 



Dispensatories are commentaries on the pharmacopoeia. They 

 contain all that the pharmacopoeia states regarding official drugs and 

 much added information. They also treat of other drugs not men- 

 tioned in the pharmacopoeia. There are three in the U. S. : — The 

 National, United States and King's dispensatories. 



In addition to the above books, there is the National Formulary, 

 which contains formulfe not included in the pharmacopoeia, but of 

 sufficient importance to render standardization desirable. It is pub- 

 lished by the American Pharmaceutical Association. Preparations 

 made according to this book are generally designated as, N. F. They 

 were recognized as official by the National Pure Drug Act passed 

 June 30, 1906. 



