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  III. 
  — 
  On 
  the 
  Constitution 
  of 
  Codeine 
  and 
  its 
  Products 
  of 
  Decomposition. 
  By 
  Thomas 
  

  

  Anderson, 
  M.D. 
  

  

  (Read 
  15th 
  April 
  1850.) 
  

  

  During 
  the 
  last 
  few 
  years, 
  great 
  progress 
  has 
  been 
  made 
  in 
  the 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  

   organic 
  alkalies, 
  and 
  the 
  discovery 
  of 
  methods 
  by 
  which 
  these 
  substances 
  can 
  be 
  

   artificially 
  produced, 
  and 
  the 
  long 
  train 
  of 
  investigations 
  by 
  which 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  

   followed, 
  has 
  greatly 
  extended 
  our 
  previous 
  information, 
  and 
  afforded 
  us 
  some 
  de- 
  

   finite 
  ideas 
  regarding 
  their 
  constitution. 
  The 
  advance 
  made 
  has, 
  however, 
  related 
  

   entirely 
  to 
  the 
  volatile 
  bases 
  produced 
  by 
  artificial 
  processes, 
  and 
  our 
  knowledge 
  

   of 
  the 
  natural 
  fixed 
  alkaloids 
  stands 
  very 
  much 
  where 
  it 
  did 
  some 
  years 
  since, 
  

   and 
  is 
  still 
  very 
  imperfect, 
  and 
  in 
  regard 
  to 
  many 
  entirely 
  fragmentary 
  ; 
  so 
  much 
  

   so, 
  indeed, 
  that 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  alkaloids 
  of 
  this 
  class 
  described 
  in 
  chemical 
  works, 
  there 
  

   are 
  not 
  perhaps 
  a 
  dozen 
  of 
  which 
  the 
  constitution 
  can 
  be 
  considered 
  as 
  definitely 
  

   fixed, 
  and 
  not 
  half 
  that 
  number 
  of 
  which 
  we 
  know 
  the 
  products 
  of 
  decomposi- 
  

   tion. 
  The 
  fact 
  is, 
  that 
  the 
  interest 
  attaching 
  to 
  the 
  artificial 
  bases 
  has 
  altogether 
  

   diverted 
  the 
  attention 
  of 
  chemists 
  from 
  the 
  natural 
  alkalies, 
  which 
  have 
  not 
  

   hitherto 
  proved 
  a 
  very 
  productive 
  field 
  of 
  inquiry 
  ; 
  at 
  least 
  the 
  researches 
  to 
  

   which 
  many 
  of 
  them 
  were 
  subjected 
  ten 
  or 
  fifteen 
  years 
  since, 
  proved 
  compara- 
  

   tively 
  unfruitful 
  in 
  their 
  results. 
  The 
  want 
  of 
  success 
  which 
  attended 
  their 
  in- 
  

   vestigation 
  at 
  that 
  time, 
  however, 
  is 
  attributable, 
  partly 
  to 
  the 
  imperfections 
  of 
  

   the 
  method 
  of 
  analysis 
  of 
  such 
  compounds, 
  and 
  partly 
  to 
  our 
  entire 
  ignorance 
  of 
  

   the 
  constitution 
  of 
  the 
  nitrogenous 
  substances 
  generally. 
  Neither 
  of 
  these 
  diffi- 
  

   culties 
  can 
  now 
  be 
  said 
  to 
  exist 
  ; 
  and 
  the 
  investigation 
  of 
  the 
  volatile 
  bases 
  has 
  

   so 
  far 
  elucidated 
  the 
  constitution 
  of 
  these 
  substances 
  generally, 
  that 
  we 
  are 
  now 
  

   in 
  the 
  condition 
  to 
  return 
  to 
  the 
  examination 
  of 
  the 
  far 
  more 
  complex 
  natural 
  

   bases 
  with 
  some 
  prospect 
  of 
  ultimate 
  success. 
  Chemists 
  are, 
  accordingly, 
  begin- 
  

   ning 
  to 
  turn 
  their 
  attention 
  to 
  this 
  field 
  of 
  inquiry, 
  and 
  during 
  the 
  last 
  few 
  

   months, 
  several 
  investigations 
  have 
  been 
  published, 
  by 
  which 
  the 
  constitution 
  

   and 
  products 
  of 
  decomposition 
  of 
  several 
  important 
  bases 
  have 
  been 
  established 
  ; 
  

   and 
  in 
  the 
  present 
  paper 
  I 
  propose 
  communicating 
  to 
  the 
  Royal 
  Society 
  the 
  

   results 
  of 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  investigations 
  of 
  codeine 
  and 
  its 
  compounds, 
  which 
  has 
  

   enabled 
  me 
  to 
  add 
  it 
  to 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  those 
  of 
  which 
  the 
  constitution 
  is 
  definitely 
  

   fixed. 
  

  

  It 
  will 
  be 
  unnecessary 
  for 
  me 
  to 
  premise 
  any 
  observations 
  regarding 
  the 
  his- 
  

   tory 
  of 
  codeine 
  and 
  its 
  discovery, 
  which 
  are 
  sufficiently 
  well 
  known, 
  further 
  than 
  

   to 
  refer 
  to 
  the 
  analyses 
  and 
  formulae 
  given 
  for 
  it 
  by 
  the 
  different 
  chemists 
  by 
  

  

  VOL. 
  xx. 
  PART 
  I. 
  Q 
  

  

  