194 PHARMACEUTICAL BACTERIOLOGY. 



silver wire, can be sterilized in s per cent, carbolic acid if necessary or they 

 may be boiled for 30 to 50 minutes. Wipe perfectly dry with sterile towels 

 and place in hot-air sterilizer for one hour at 100° C. In order to keep them 

 in sterile condition for immediate use they must be kept wrapped in sterilized 

 cloth or cotton. 



c. Catgut requires thorough sterilization as not infrequently spores of 

 disease germs (as anthrax) are present. The so-called cumol (cumene) 

 method of catgut sterilization is quite generally adopted in the hospitals of 

 Germany and of other European countries. Wind the catgut in the usual 

 ring form, dry in hot-air sterilizer for two hours at 70° G., place rings in a 

 vessel (beaker, etc.) with cumol on sand-bath and heat to 155° C. or 165° C. 

 (the boiling-point of cumol), turn ofi the gas and allow to remain in the hot 

 cumol for one hour. The cumol dish should be covered with a fine mesh 

 wire" screen to guard against catching fire. Take the catgut rings out of the 

 cumol by means of sterile pincers and place in benzine for three hours, then 

 allow the benzine to evaporate in sterile Petri dishes. 



d. Silver catgut is preferably sterilized in i per cent, silver citrate (itrol) 

 or I per cent, silver lactate (actol), allowing it to remain for six hours, 

 which destroys even the anthrax spores. Next expose the catgut to light 

 (in sterile dishes) for a day or two, then wind or fasten on glass and preserve 

 in 95 per cent, alcohol with 10 per cent, glycerin. Actol and itrol ionize 

 silver far less actively than sUver nitrate, hence their preference. 



a. Catheters, drainage tubing and other rubber materials are sterilized 

 by boiling in water with 5 per cent, sodic hydrate. Rubber goods will not 

 stand prolonged and frequent boiling. Do not sterilize metal ware with 

 rubber goods. 



e. Sterilization of Medicines. — ^As a rule, medicines which are prepared 

 under aseptic surroundings and conditions do not require sterilization. 

 However, the ideal conditions rarely exist and subsequent sterilizations 

 become desirable and even necessary. 



Tooth powders, dusting powders and similar substances may be ster- 

 ilized at a dry temperature of 70° C, for three to four hours. Salves and 

 pastes are dif&cult to sterilize. Low temperatures (from 60° C. to 70° C.) 

 for several hours may be employed. 



Solutions for subcutaneous injection, for wound irrigation, for bladder 

 irrigation, solutions of boric add, of tannic acid, aquae, normal salt solu- 

 tions and all weaker solutions of chemicals, intended for washes and irriga- 

 tion in surgery, should be sterilized by boiling for five minutes. Strong 

 solutions of chemicals (as acids, alkalies, etc.) do not require sterilization 

 as they are themselves strongly germicidal. 



Alkaloidal and glucosidal solutions, and solutions of alkaloidal salts, 

 tinctures and fluidextracts, should be carefully filtered and sterilized in 



