12 
both sodium bicarbonate and seltzer water having been suggested 
as a means of lessening these disagreeable symptoms.® Looked at 
from a purely pharmaceutical standpoint the presence of carbonates 
in such mixtures, when dispensed in tablet form, would aid in the 
disintegration of the tablet because of the chemical action of the 
acids of the gastric juice. 
No branch in the manufacture of proprietary medicine has offered 
such inducements for the introduction of special formulae or special 
nomenclature as has that dealing with the preparation of headache 
remedies. And almost invariably this has meant acetanilide mix- 
tures. The universal use of such drugs in the relief of such a com- 
mon symptom has led to multiplication and remultiplication of the 
different preparations until they are numbered by the hundreds. 
These have in a general way followed the general type of formula as 
illustrated by antikamnia, containing acetanilide as a basis and occa- 
sionally antipyrine or acetphenetidin, although the cheapness of the 
former drug made it by far the most popular with the manufacturers. 
The other ingredients of these mixtures have usually included caffeine 
and an alkaline carbonate and less often the salicylates, the bro- 
mides, morphine, and codeine. 
The fact that many of these preparations were advertised and 
sold to the physician on the one hand and directly to a drug-addicted 
public on the other, that they and similar proprietaries were often 
frauduently advertised as panaceas of unusual and wonderful virtue, 
and finally that their composition was shown to be notoriously vari- 
able, was sufficient to arouse a sentiment againstiall such preparations. 
In line with this, in the last revision of the United States Pharma- 
copoeia, certain formulae were introduced, the purpose of which was 
to give the physician official preparations to take the place of the 
many similar ones which he had previously been prescribing. This 
accounts for a number of formulae which are now pharmacopoeial, 
and especially for Pulvis Acetanilide Compositus. Although there 1 . 
may be some reasons for criticising this step, it certainly was desirable ^ i 
that the physician should be able to order an acetanilide mixture 
the composition of which was known and which contained a definite f , 
and constant proportion of the several ingredients. | - 
It is the purpose of this investigation to determine through experi- j 
ments upon animals to what extent the presence of such a combina- 5 j 
tion of drugs is justifiable upon the basis of a lessened or altered f | 
toxicity of the contained acetanihde; also to determine to what ex- ; 
tent the toxicity of other coal-tar combinations is altered by the , 
addition of the various other drugs most frequently found with them | 
in the various formulae. 
a Am. Jour. Pharmacy, 1888, XVIII, ISO. 
