170 DEPRESSANTS TO CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM 



ALCOHOL — ETHYL ALCOHOL 



Synonyms. Spiritus Eectificatus Br. ; Spiritus G. ; Spiritus Vini 

 Eectificatissimus, Spirit of Wine, Tr. ; Common or Grain Alcohol 



There are two kinds of alcohol, ethyl and methyl, but the latter 

 is not used internally in medicine because it is an active poison. It 

 ■will be discussed later. 



Ethyl or grain alcohol is a liquid containing 92.3 per cent, by 

 weight or 94.9 per cent, by volume of alcohol and the rest of water. 

 It is used in the following forms : 



Alcohol as described above. 



Alcoholum Dilutum. Diluted alcohol containing 41 per cent, by 

 weight or 48 per cent, by volume of ethyl alcohol (equal volumes of 

 distilled water and alcohol). 



Alcohol Dehydratum. Dehydrated alcohol, absolute alcohol, 

 contains not less than 1 per cent, by weight of water. 



*Alcohol Deodoratum. Deodorized alcohol contains 92.5 per 

 cent, by weight of alcohol. The odor is removed by distilling over a 

 2 per cent, solution of sodium acetate. 



*SpirHus Frumenti. Whiskey, 44 — 50 per cent, of alcohol. 



*8piritus Vini Gallici. Brandy, 39 — 47 per cent, of alcohol. 



*Vinum Album. White Wine, 10 — 14 per cent, of alcohol. 



*Vinum Buhrum. Red Wine, same strength as white wine. 



Doses. Alcohol. H. gj— ij ; 30.— 60. D. 3j— ij ; 4.-8. 



External and Local Action. Alcohol retards fermentation in 

 yeast-formed liquors when it reaches about 10 per cent, of the liquid 

 and checks it completely when about 15 per cent. A mixture of 

 equal parts of red wine (12 per cent.) and water has killed typhoid 

 bacilli in twelve hours, which makes it very evident that alcohol is 

 antiseptic. Harrington and Walker have found solutions of about 

 70 per cent, strength to have greater antiseptic properties than 

 stronger ones. 



If applied to the skin and allowed to evaporate it is cooling, and 

 tends to harden the skin, but if the evaporation is prevented it is an 

 irritant, causing redness. It does not form vesicles. It is irritant 

 to mucous membranes and raw surfaces because it abstracts water 

 from them and coagulates the protoplasm, on account of which 

 strong liquors should not be administered without dilution. 



Digestive Tract. Mouth. In the mouth when concentrated 

 there is a burning sensation. If retained for some time the albumen 

 of the superficial tissues is coagulated and the mucous membrane 

 becomes whitish. The coagulum is not permanent but is soon dis- 

 solved by the fluids of the tissues. Soon after the alcohol is placed 



* Unofficial. 



