A  jaSar^is™'}         Modern  Surgical  Dressings.  39 
have  had  to  do  in  its  history,  is  sure  to  be  revealed.  The  issue  of 
life  or  death  in  such  a  case  should  not  be  subject  to  the  market  rates 
per  pound  or  yard.  What  results  must  follow  the  very  common 
practice  of  dispensers  who  open  packages  of  dressings,  measure  and 
weigh  them  over  dusty  counters  with  unclean  hands,  and  send  them 
on  their  mission  ?  It  would  be  more  humane,  perhaps,  to  send  a 
lethal  dose  of  strychnine.  In  the  light  of  asepsis,  to  dispense  mor- 
phine for  quinine  becomes  a  virtue  when  compared  with  the  wilful 
contamination  of  a  surgical  dressing. 
Poisons  are  put  under  lock  and  key,  dispensed  under  rigid  sys- 
tems of  precaution  and  checking. 
The  importance  of  the  surgical  dressing,  the  nature  of  its  re- 
quirements, call  for  equal  care.  There  is  no  article  in  the  druggist's 
stock  which  should  receive  greater  care  and  judgment.  Upon  every 
yard  of  gauze,  sponge  or  ligature  he  dispenses  hangs,  perhaps,  the  life 
and  death  of  a  patient  and  the  reputation  of  a  surgeon.  They  should 
be  guarded  from  every  channel  of  direct  or  indirect  infection. 
A  closet  or  a  room,  or  a  case  should  be  provided  for  their  recep- 
tion that'is  cleanable ;  it  should  be  cleaned  often  and  kept  clean. 
They  should  be  sold  within  the  containers  in  which  they  are  packed 
in  their  preparation.  They  should  never  be  broken  open  for  sale  or 
for  any  other  purpose.  They  should  be  delivered  to  the  surgeon  so 
perfect  that  there  can  be  no  question  as  to  their  integrity,  placing 
all  the  responsibility  for  their  subsequent  care  in  his  hands.  In 
dispensing  to  the  public,  every  purchaser  should  be  cautioned 
as  to  their  nature  and  instructed  in  their  handling  and  use.  The 
price  should  meet  the  cost  of  the  dressing  plus  a  profit  which  will 
cover  this  service  of  advice,  trouble  and  care. 
Ninety-five  per  cent,  of  the  100,000  physicians  in  our  land  who 
apply  these  principles  of  surgery  must  look  to  the  pharmacist  for 
their  dressing  materials.  In  filling  this  demand,  the  pharmacist 
should  supply  such  materials  as  will  meet  the  highest  surgical  re- 
quirements. As  far  as  the  dressing  is  a  factor,  the  surgeon  at  the 
country  cross-roads,  by  the  aid  of  the  pharmacist,  should  be  enabled 
to  reach  the  advanced  methods  of  the  metropolitan  clinic. 
To  attain  this  end  in  the  making,  in  the  buying,  in  the  sale  and  in 
the  dispensing,  even  to  the  most  minute  detail,  there  is  required 
knowledge,  skill,  ability  and  finally  a  faithful  application  of  the  same. 
