Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
March,  1918.  J 
Advances  in  Pharmacy. 
of  the  requirements  is  that  the  firm  manufacturing  the  drugs  must 
pay  to  the  alien  firm  holding  the  American  patent  five  per  cent,  of 
its  gross  receipts  on  the  sale  of  the  drug.  The  Federal  Trade  Com- 
mission reserves  to  itself  the  right  to  fix  the  price  of  these  drugs 
and  to  judge  the  quality  of  the  drugs  manufactured.  All  this  is  as 
it  should  be.  And  furthermore  the  Commission  should  see  that  the 
American  public  is  not  compelled  to  pay  exorbitant  prices  for  these 
really  necessary  and  valuable  drugs.  Two  other  firms  have  been 
given  the  privilege  to  make  novocaine,  to  which  has  'been  given  the 
name  procaine. 
Drs.  Schamberg,  Kolmer,  Raiziss,  and  Gavron  embody  in  a 
paper  appearing  in  the  Journal  of  the  A.  M.  A.,  Jan.  19,  their  result 
of  experimental  studies  of  the  mode  of  absorption  of  mercury  when 
applied  by  inunction.  How  the  mercury  reaches  the  blood  stream 
by  inunction  has  been  a  much  mooted  question  for  many  years. 
Welander,  of  Stockholm,  after  much  clinical  investigation,  announced 
that  the  greater  part  of  the  mercury  applied  by  inunction  is  vola- 
tilized and  absorbed  through  the  lungs.  He  received  much  support 
in  his  contention  from  other  clinicians.  As  a  result  of  his  work  he 
advised  light  smearing  of  the  skin  with  mercurial  ointment  instead 
of  vigorous  rubbing  in.  He  also  advised  inhalation  cures,  using 
bags  containing  mercury  in  powder  form  and  worn  around  the  neck 
at  night. 
In  a  rather  novel  manner  the  authors  seem  to  have  proved  the 
dominant  route  of  absorption  when  mercury  is  used  on  the  skin. 
They  constructed  a  box  to  domicile  two  rabbits,  one  to  be  rubbed 
with  mercury  and  the  other  to  be  made  to  breathe  the  mercury- 
containing  atmosphere.  The  rabbit  who  had  received  inunctions 
had  his  head  projected  through  the  outside  of  the  box,  in  such 
manner  that  it  could  do  itself  no  harm.  The  other  rabbit  received 
no  inunctions  but  was  compelled  to  constantly  breathe  the  mercury 
volatilizing  from  the  other's  skin.  In  order  to  facilitate  absorption 
those  rabbits  who  received  inunctions  had  their  hair  removed  with 
a  depilatory,  barium  sulphid  being  used  for  this  purpose. 
The  experimental  studies  were  repeated  five  times,  ten  animals 
being  used  altogether.  After  giving  in  detail  their  work  they  give 
the  following  conclusions : 
1.  Animal  experiments  demonstrate  that  the  chief  avenue  of 
absorption  of  mercury,  when  applied  by  inunction,  is  the  skin. 
2.  Rabbits  may  be  fatally  poisoned  with  mercury  by  inunction, 
even  when  no  opportunity  of  absorption  through  the  lungs  exists. 
