AmAugS;wM!m'}     65th  Annual  Session  of  A.  M.  A.  377 
In  a  paper  on  "  The  Medical  Treatment  of  Chronic  Intestinal 
Stasis,"  W.  A.  Bastedo,  of  New  York,  discussed  the  uses  and  limi- 
tations of  many  of  the  aperients  and  cathartics.  In  commenting  on 
the  now  widely  used  paraffin  oil,  he  called  attention  to  a  series  of  ten 
samples  not  one  of  which  complied  strictly  with  the  requirements 
of  the  Pharmacopoeia,  and  also  stated  that  in  writing  prescriptions  for 
paraffin  oil  or  liquid  petrolatum  it  is  unfortunately  true  that  it  is  prac- 
tically necessary  to  specify  some  established  brand,  as  the  material 
supplied  in  retail  drug  stores  very  seldom,  if  ever,  complies  with  the 
requirements  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  or  is  of  an  otherwise  satisfactory 
nature. 
In  a  paper  on  active  immunization  in  diphtheria  by  toxin-anti- 
toxin mixtures,  William  H.  Park,  of  New  York,  reported  on  recent 
progress  in  the  prophylaxis  of  diphtheria  and  reviewed  the  present- 
day  knowledge  regarding  immunization  and  the  possible  recognition 
of  immunization  by  skin  reaction. 
In  a  paper  on  the  use  of  diphtheria  antitoxin  in  the  treatment  of 
diphtheria,  Samuel  S.  Woody,  of  Philadelphia,  recommended  the 
administration  of  much  larger  doses  than  are  used  at  present,  and  also 
asserted  that  the  number  of  antitoxin  units  to  be  administered  should 
be  in  keeping  with  the  stage  of  the  disease.  He  also  stated  that  as  a 
prophylactic  diphtheria  antitoxin  was  uncertain  and  in  a  great  meas- 
ure unsatisfactory  in  its  results,  and  that  to  be  efficacious  in  the  treat- 
ment of  diphtheria,  antitoxin  must  be  given  at  the  earliest  possible, 
moment  and  in  large  doses. 
In  addition  to  the  resolution  endorsing  the  inclusion  of  pastilles 
of  corrosive  mercuric  chloride  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United 
States,  the  House  of  Delegates  also  adopted  the  following  recom- 
mendation of  pharmaceutical  interest  suggested  by  the  Council  on 
Medical  Education  and  endorsed  by  the  reference  committee: 
"  Your  committee  also  recommends  that  the  Council  be  instructed 
to  urge  all  medical  colleges  to  adopt  the  nomenclature  of  thte  Pharma- 
copoeia of  1910,  and  to  use  the  metric  system  in  their  teaching." 
The  scientific  exhibit  was  of  unusual  interest,  and  the  work  dis- 
played was  not  alone  excellent,  but  much  of  it  was  of  immediate  prac- 
tical value  to  the  profession.  The  commercial  exhibit  attracted  con- 
siderable attention  and  was  unusually  free  from  objectionable 
features  in  the  way  of  proprietary  and  semi-proprietary  prepara- 
tions not  recognized  by  the  Council  on  Pharmacy  and  Chemistry. 
The  officials  for  the  Section  on  Pharmacology  and  Therapeutics 
