June 28, 1873.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
1029 
MATERIA MEDIC A OF THE UNITED 
STATES’ PHARMACOPOEIA. 
BY E. M. HOLMES, 
Curator of the Museum of the Pharmaceutical Society. 
('Continued from page 1011.) 
Nomenclature .—A list of the alterations in the 
names of chemical compounds has been given on a 
former page. There is, however, one change in the 
signification of a name which may be noticed here. 
Alum has hitherto been understood to mean sulphate 
of aluminium and potassium, and the corresponding 
salt of aluminium and ammonium has been known as 
ammonia alum. This is now reversed in the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia. When alum is ordered in a pre¬ 
scription, the dispenser is required to use ammonia 
alum, and to dispense potash alum only when pre¬ 
scribed under the name of aluminii et potassii sul¬ 
phas. This change probably arises from the fact 
that a large proportion of the alum now met with in 
commerce consists of ammonia alum. Fortunately 
the medical properties of the two are sufficiently 
alike to render the change of little moment. 
The term “ folium ” as applied to Aconitum, Bella¬ 
donna, Hyoscyamus, and Strammonium , has been 
changed to folia. The word semen however is not 
altered in those cases in which it occurs, viz., Colchicum, 
Hyoscyamus, and Strammonium. This want of unifor¬ 
mity is very arbitrary—the one has certainly as much 
claim to be placed in the plural number as the other. 
In some cases, the specific names have been altered 
in consequence of the introduction of others bearing 
the same generic name ; thus Asclepias lias now 
become A. tuberosa, in consequence of the intro¬ 
duction of two new species of Asclepias unto the 
secondary list. Conium is now altered to Conii folia, 
a change which has been made necessary by the 
addition of Conii fructus to the primary list. Ex- 
tractum cannabis is now called Ext. Cannabis indicce, 
an extract of Cannabis americana having been intro¬ 
duced into the preparations. It is unfortunate that 
this rule of distinguishing between two articles of 
the same generic name has not been followed in 
■every case. A contrary procedure has taken place 
with regard to the following, the descriptive terms 
being omitted:— 
1364. 
Ulmus fulva 
Sesami folium, Benne leaf 
Sassafras radicis cortex 
Blackberry root 
Black oak bark 
White oak bark 
Wild cherry bark 
1873. 
Ulmus. 
Sesamum, Benne. 
Sassafras. 
Blackberry. 
Black oak. 
White oak. 
Wild cherry. 
The compilers of the Pharmacopoeia have carried 
this pruning process to a considerable extent; thus 
it will be observed that abbreviations have been 
made wherever possible, with the result, in several 
cases, of rendering the meaning somewhat doubtful. 
This may be complimentary to the common sense of 
the American people, but it makes no allowance for 
the fact that American prescriptions are sometimes 
prepared in other countries, where the abbreviated 
descriptions might possibly be misconstrued, and that 
therefore the terms used should be as explicit as pos¬ 
sible. Thus Prumimis described as the fruit,and there¬ 
fore either fresh or dried fruit might be used, although 
it is evident from the preparations that dried fruit is 
Third Series, No. 157. 
intended, and Piper, Cubeba, and Pimento, are de¬ 
scribed as unripe fruits, although no one would think 
that the green fruits were intended to be used. 
But sassafras in this country would mean the whole 
of the root and not the root-bark ; and Ulmus would 
mean Ulmus campestris, which is not nearly so muci¬ 
laginous as U. fulva. If syrup of blackberry were 
asked for by an American resident in a provincial 
town in England, the probability is that syrup of 
blackberry fruit would be unhesitatingly supplied, 
that being a favourite domestic medicine for aphthae, 
etc., but it does not possess the tonic and astringent 
properties of the American preparation. These use¬ 
less abbreviations have been carried to their utmost 
extent in the case of Coptis, the only description 
appended to which, if description it can be called, is 
Coptis trifolia. The root of this plant was officinal in 
the last edition, but whether the same part of the 
plant or the whole herb is to be used now is not at 
all clear. 
The instances above given are perhaps not of any 
great importance, but the principle of curtailed 
description is a bad one. This is more especially 
evident when the same name is common to two or 
more plants, as in Castanea ; or when different parts 
of the same plants are officinal in other pharma¬ 
copoeias. If a description is necessary it is well that 
it should be accurate and lucid. While it cannot be 
expected that a pharmacopoeia should take the place 
of a work on materia medica, and give a full de¬ 
scription of the history and properties of each drug, 
it is only reasonable to expect that the same facilities 
should be afforded for attaining excellence of quality 
and freedom from adulteration in the organic as in 
the inorganic part of the materia medica. A short 
but practically useful description of what the roots, 
leaves, and barks should be, and of the means by 
which their quality and freedom from adulteration 
or admixture could be readily estimated, is in 
some measure necessary to ensure uniformity in 
dispensing. 
The following names have been altered thus :— 
1864. 
Cranesbill 
Fleabane 
Canada Fleabane 
Hemlock 
Henbane seed 
1873. 
Geranium. 
Erigeron. 
Canada Erigeron. 
Conium leaves. 
Hyoscyamus seed. 
This is a slight improvement in accuracy. The 
name of fleabane is applied to several different 
plants. Hemlock is a name applied also to the 
hemlock spruce. There is not, however, that I am 
aware of, any similar reason for changing the well- 
known name of henbane seed to hyoscyamus seed. 
The change of cranesbill to geranium can scarcely be 
called an improvement, for the one name is not more 
distinctive than the other; one of the other names 
in common use, such as spotted geranium, would 
have been better. A few names have been altered 
in deference to the progress of science, thus :— 
1864. 
Cytisus scoparius. 
Artemisia contra 
Cocculus palmatus, DC. 
Cinchona, an undetermined 
species 
1873. 
Sarothamnus scoparius. 
Artemisia Cina 
Jateorrhiza palmata, Miers. 
Cinchona succirubra 
It may here be noticed that calumba root is attri¬ 
buted to two species, Jateorrhiza palmata, Mieiv, 
which is the same as Cocculus palmatus, De Candolle, 
