Amjine!"i9P(Sai"m'}        Glycerophosphate  Preparations.  2J7 
THE  NOMENCLATURE  OF  THE  GLYCEROPHOSPHATE 
PREPARATIONS. 
By  Melvin  W.  Bamford. 
At  this  time,  when  preparations  of  the  salts  of  glycerophosphoric 
acid  are  attracting  considerable  attention,  it  might  be  of  advantage 
to  make  an  effort  to  secure  some  degree  of  uniformity  in  the  strength 
and  nomenclature  of  these  preparations.  Something  should  cer- 
tainly be  done  in  this  direction  because  otherwise  there  appears  to 
be  danger  that  there  will  be  the  same  confusion  with  preparations 
of  glycerophosphates  as  has  always  existed  with  preparations  of  the 
hypophosphites.  With  this  latter  class  it  has  never  been  possible  for 
a  physician  to  know  what  would  be  used  in  his  prescription  for  com- 
pound syrup  of  hypophosphites,  nor  for  a  pharmacist  to  know  just 
what  a  physician  might  mean  when  he  wrote  compound  syrup  of 
hypophosphites.  Under,  this  title  we  have  any  number  of  prepara- 
tions ranging  from  one  containing  only  the  salts  of  calcium,  sodium 
and  potassium,  to  one  containing  iron,  manganese,  strychnine  and 
quinine  in  addition  to  the  first  three  mentioned. 
For  a  parallel  case  with  the  glycerophosphates  we  rind,  on  refer- 
ring to  the  price  lists  of  two  of  the  largest  manufacturers  of  pharma- 
ceuticals in  the  country,  that  one  lists  a  preparation  containing  the 
salts  of  calcium,  sodium,  potassium  and  iron  as  compound  elixir  of 
glycerophosphates,  and  the  other  manufacturer  under  exactly  the 
same  title  lists  a  preparation  containing  calcium,  sodium,  iron,  man- 
ganese, quinine  and  strychnine. 
For  some  reason,  which  is  not  altogether  apparent,  these  prepara- 
tions of  the  glycerophosphates  are  only  from  a  half  to  a  third  as 
strong  as  the  preparations  of  the  hypophosphites.  The  difference 
in  the  price  of  the  salts  probably  has  some  influence  on  this,  the 
cost  of  the  glycerophosphates  being  about  three  times  as  high  as 
the  cost  of  the  hypophosphites. 
Pharmaceutically  and  medicinally  there  seems  to  be  no  reason 
why  the  glycerophosphate  preparations  should  not  be  made  as  con- 
centrated as  those  of  the  hypophosphites.  This  is  especially  appa- 
rent when  it  is  considered  that  Dr.  Robin,  to  whose  work  these  salts 
in  large  degree  owe  their  popularity,  used  a  more  concentrated 
solution  and  in  relatively  larger  doses  than  is  provided  for  by  most 
of  the  preparations  now  on  the  market.    The  syrup  of  Dr.  Robin's, 
