458 DRUGS OF ANIMAL ORIGIN 



Constituents.— 1, chiefly a fat, cetin or cetyl palmitate (CnHssCioHsiO..), com- 

 posed of cetylic alcohol (doH^aOH) and palmitic acid (HCjjHaiO^) ; 2, sperm oil, 

 a small quantity. 



PREPARATIOK. 



Unguentum Cetacei. (B. P.) 

 Spermaceti, white wax, and olive oil. Made by melting and mixing. 



, Action and Uses. — Spermaceti resembles wax. It is used as an 

 emollient and as a basis for plasters, ointments, and cerates.- It is 

 rarely used alone. 



Mel. Honey. (U. S. & B. P.) 



Synonym. — Miel, Fr. ; honig, G. 



A saccharine secretion deposited in the honeycomb by the bee. Apis mellifica 

 LinnS (Fam. Apidae). 



Properties. — A thick, syrupy liquid of a light yellowish or yellowish-brown 

 color; translucent when fresh, but gradually becoming opaque and crystalline; 

 having a characteristic odor, and a sweet, faintly acrid taste. Nearly soluble in 

 water. 



Constituents. — 1, grape sugar (dextrose) ; 2, fruit sugar (glucose) ; 3, a vola- 

 tile oil; 4, wax; 5, formic acid, a trace. Fresh honey contains sucrose or cane 

 sugar, which is changed into grape, and fruit sugars. 



PREPABATION. 



Mel Depuratum. Clarified Honey. (U. S. & B. P.) 

 Synonym. — Mel depuratum, P. G. ; miel despumfi, mellite simple, Fr. ; gereinig- 



ter honig, G. 



Derivation. — Melt honey with two per cent, of its weight of paper-pulp in 



water bath; skim, strain, and add five per cent, of its weight of glycerin. 

 Dose. — Ad lib. 



Honey is employed as an excipient in electuaries and confections. 

 It is a demulcent and mild laxative for young animals. Oxymel (clarified 

 honey, 8 parts ; water and acetic acid, each 1 part) is a soothing prepara- 

 tion for the throat. 



Saccharum Lactis. Sugar of Milk. (CuHjAi + H^O.) (U. S. & B. P.) 



S^reoKj/m.— Lactose, lactin, milk sugar, E. ; Sucre de lait, Fr. ; milchzucker, G. 



Lactose obtained from the whey of cows' milk, by evaporation, and purified 

 by recrystallization. 



Properties. — White, hard, crystalline masses, or as a white powder, producing 

 a gritty feeling on the tongue; odorless, and having a faintly sweet taste. Per- 

 manent in the air. Soluble in about 4.9 parts of water; insoluble in alcohol, 

 ether, or chloroform. 



Dose. — Ad lib. 



Uses. — Sugar of milk is less soluble and therefore less sweet than 

 cane sugar. It is harder, and thus assists in the subdivision of drugs, and 

 serves as a vehicle in the making of powders and triturates. It also 

 forms the basis of homeopathic preparations. 



Sugar of milk is a considerable diuretic and may be given to dogs 

 in 2 to 4 dram doses daily, in solution in the drinking water, for dropsy 

 of renal or cardiac origin. 



Pepsinum. Pepsin. (U. S. & 3. P.) 

 Synonym. — Pepsine, Fr. ; pepsin, G. 



A mixture containing a proteolytic ferment or enzyme, obtained from the 

 glandular layer of the fresh stomach of the hog ^Sus scrofa, var. domesticus 



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