27 
In the first series of experiments acetanilide and an acetanilide- 
caffeine mixture were given to white mice by hypodermic injection. 
The mice were obtained from the same lot for each series of experi- 
ments and after being weighed they were placed in separate jars 
and the dose calculated in terms of grams of body weight. Ace- 
tanilide is so slightly soluble in water that it was found necessary to 
dissolve it in dilute alcohol (55 per cent) in order to make the hypo- 
dermic method available. This unfortunately introduces an addi- 
tional factor, and to lessen the amount of alcohol injected as far as 
possible a supersaturated solution (at ordinary temperature) was 
formed, each cubic centimeter of the solution representing 200 milli- 
grams of the drug. It was necessary to heat the solution to about 
40° before the injections were made, and to prevent precipitation 
when dravm up in the syringe the latter was also kept in a warm 
place and the injection under the loose skin of the back made as 
cpiickly as possible. The minimum lethal dose of acetanilide when 
given in this way was found to be 0.0013 gram per gram of body 
weight. In control mice somewhat more than double the amount of 
alcohol was just sufficient to cause death, showing that the poisonous 
action of acetanilide was the principal toxic agent, although its 
effects were possibA modified to some extent by the solvent. The 
following table (Table Till) gives the result of a determinative series 
of experiments: 
Table YIII. — Determination of the minimum lethal dose of acetanilide for u'hite mice, 
hypodermic injection. Dose given represents grams of drug per gram body iceight. 
[— =survived.; +=deatli.] 
Weight 
in grams. 
Dose per 
gram body 
■weight. 
Result. 
Hours 
till 
death. 
Series I . . . 
15. 12 
0. 0010 
16.10 
.0012 
_ 
14.41 
.0014 
+ 
23 
Series II 
24. 18 
.0011 

19.24 
.0012 
-f- 
26 
23.66 
.0013 
25 
Series III - . 
17. 45 
.0012 
1 
18.96 
.0012 
_ 
14.32 
.0013 
i 
30 
15. 92 
.0013 
+ 1 
14 
