Editorial. 
Am.  Jour.  Phann. 
Aug.,  1878. 
yet  thoroughly  introduced  nor  understood.  Pharmacists  are  bound  to  know  the 
dose  of  poisonous  drugs  which  they  dispense. 
In  case  of  doubt  or  ambiguity  of  prescriptions,  they  must  consult  the  authorities-. 
The  highest  authority  known  to  the  pharmacist  is  the  Pharmacopoeia,  or  the  Dis- 
pensatory, which  is  a  commentary  on  the  Pharmacopoeia.  If  the  Dispensatory 
authorizes  a  wrong  dose,  the  physician  who  prescribes  and  the  pharmacist  who  pre- 
pares it  should  not  be  charged  with  negligence. 
Now,  let  us  suppose  that  Mr.  Eaton  suspected  that  one-eighth  of  a  grain  of  atropia 
was  a  large  dose.  He  opens  his  medical  bible — the  last  edition  of  the  U.  S.  Dis- 
pensatory. He  reads  that  a  commencing  dose  is  1-15  of  a  grain,1  and  that  this 
amount  may  be  safely  increased.  The  amount  which  seems  to  be  ordered  in  the 
prescription  is  not  twice  the  quantity  which  is  indicated  in  the  book  as  a  commenc- 
ing dose,  If  1-15  is  a  safe  commencing  dose  1-8  cannot  be  extravagantly  large, 
while  1-64  is  too  small  to  be  of  any  service.  So  he  reasons,  and  puts  up  the  pre- 
scription. It  is  plain  enough  to  you  and  me  that  the  Dispensatory  has  made  a  mis- 
take. Our  knowledge  has  been  drawn  from  a  variety  of  sources.  But  is  the  phar- 
macist bound  to  be  wise  above  what  is  written,  and  is  he  to  be  punished  for  the 
mistakes  of  the  U.  S.  Dispensatory  ?  Remember  that  Mr.  Eno  took  less  than  the 
quantity  sanctioned  by  the  highest  medical  authority,  and  then  judge  if  it  was  not  a 
hard  ruling  that  demanded  of  the  studious  druggist  a  wisdom  superior  to  that  of  the 
book  which  he  has  been  led  to  regard  as  unquestionable  and  unerring. 
Effects  of  Atropia. — Atropia,  as  is  well-known,  is  the  active  principle  of  bella- 
donna and  stramonium.  In  moderate  doses,  it  is  a  safe  and  invaluable  medicine. 
In  overdoses,  it  produces  temporary  mental  and  physical  derangements  -?  it  causes 
transient  delirium  and  paralysis,  as  alcohol  does,  but  it  is  speedily  eliminated  by  the 
kidneys  and  other  organs.  It  does  not  produce  any  characteristic  organic  lesion  5 
and  so,  when  it  is  eliminated,  its  effects  cease.  One  of  its  earliest  manifestations  is 
a  dilation  of  the  pupil  of  the  eye,  and  this  dilation  is  the  last  symptom  to  disappear. 
When  the  pupil  acts  normally,  it  is  safe  to  conclude  that  no  portion  of  the  drug 
remains,  and  that  its  effects  have  all  ceased.  The  older  observers  mentioned  inflam- 
mation of  the  stomach  and  intestines  as  a  post  mortem  appearance.  Now,  if  this 
inflammation  were  produced  by  the  drug,  in  cases  where  the  dose  is  not  fatal,  it  would 
speedily  subside  without  treatment,  and  would  not  remain  after  the  elimination  of 
the  drug.  The  vomiting  is  no  sign  that  inflammation  is  present.  All  the  symptoms, 
the  dryness  of  throat,  the  vomiting,  the  dilation  of  pupil  are  produced  when  the  drug 
is  injected  into  the  arm,  and  when  no  portion  comes  directly  into  contact  with  the 
stomach.  But  late  and  careful  examination  finds  no  trace  of  gastric  inflammation 
even  in  the  fatal  cases.  Of  course,  then  it  does  not  exist  in  the  cases  which  are  not 
fatal. 
The  learned  counsel  asked  me  to  name  one  authority  which  declares  that  inflam- 
mation is  not  found  in  the  stomach  after  death.  I  could  not  do  it.  Neither  could 
I  have  named  one  authority  which  states  that  atropia  does  not  produce  warts  on  the 
hands  nor  corns  on  the  feet.  The  authorities  tell  what  is  found.  They  give 
minutely  every  post  mortem  appearance.  And  when  H.  C.  Wood  and  Von  Bceck, 
the  latest  authorities,  make  no  mention  of  inflammation  of  the  stomach,  it  is  sate  to 
conclude  that  inflammation  is  not  produced  by  atropia.  In  regard  to  the  permanent 
influence  of  the  drug  on  the  nervous  system,  there  is  the  single  statement  of  Dr.  Gar- 
rod,  that  belladonna  produced  nervous  depression  in  his  case  for  two  years,  against 
the  testimony  of  hundreds  that  the  effects  of  atropia  are  very  transitory.  Dr.  Gar- 
rod  was  honest,  and  he  had  no  pecuniary  temptation  to  lie  or  to  exaggerate.  No 
pettifogger  of  the  baser  sort  had  nagged  and  coaxed  him  to  commence  a  suit  for 
damages  against  his  friend.  No  contract  had  been  entered  into  with  him  that  the 
impecunious  pettifogger  would  pay  the  costs  if  the  verdict  were  adverse,  while  a 
1  This  refers  to  a  typographical  error  on  page  1099  of  the  fourteenth  edition  of  theTJ.  S.  Dispensatory;, 
*'  One-fifteenth  "  should  be  corrected  to  one-fiftieth  of  a  grain. — Editor  Am.  Jour.  Phar. 
