346 
Urinary  Antisepsis. 
Am.  Tour.  Pharm. 
May,  19 1 8. 
and  the  possibility  of  injury  to  the  renal  epithelium  and  of  irritat- 
ing effects  on  the  lower  urinary  tract,  one  realizes  the  hopelessness 
of  the  problem  if  the  synthesis  of  a  completely  harmless  urinary  anti- 
septic is  the  goal.  The  matter  then  resolves  itself  into  a  question 
of  relative  toxicity ;  that  is,  the  attainment  of  a  compound  combining 
minimum  toxicity  with  maximum  efficiency,  so  that  small  but  effec- 
tive doses  may  be  safely  used. 
Methods  of  Injection. 
Each  compound  was  investigated  with  two  objects  in  view :  first, 
to  determine  the  rate  of  elimination  by  the  kidney,  and  second,  to 
determine  the  antiseptic  properties.  Rabbits  were  used  for  injec- 
tion purposes  because  (1)  they  are  easily  available  and  cared  for  in 
large  numbers;  (2)  the  ear  vein  is  easily  injected,  and  (3)  the 
urethra  of  the  male  rabbit  is  large  and  easily  catheterized.  The 
drugs  were  injected  intravenously  in  10  Mg.  amounts  in  I  per  cent, 
solution,  and  the  rabbits  catheterized  after  one  hour.  In  the  case  of 
each  drug  a  colorimetric  estimation  of  percentage  of  excretion  was 
made  with  the  Hellige  colorimeter,  10  Mg.  of  the  drug  diluted  in 
1,000  Cc.  of  water  being  uesd  as  a  standard.  In  order  to  make 
certain  that  the  total  excretion  for  one  hour  was  quantitatively  re- 
covered, the  bladders  of  the  rabbits  were  irrigated  after  catheteri- 
zation, and  the  irrigation  added  to  the  urine  obtained  through  the 
catheter.  The  percentage  of  excretion  of  each  compound  was  esti- 
mated by  averaging  the  results  of  at  least  two  injections  on  dif- 
ferent rabbits.  It  would  have  been  impossible  to  determine  the 
rate  of  excretion  of  such  a  large  number  of  compounds  had  it 
not  been  that  nearly  all  of  them  were  highly  colored  and  hence 
readily  detected  in  the  urine.  Colorless  compounds  were  rejected, 
excepting  a  few  in  which  the  antiseptic  tests  were  unusually  prom- 
ising. 
Bacteriologic  Technic. 
Antisepsis  in  urine  is  quite  a  different  thing  from  antisepsis  in 
water.  As  will  be  shown  further  on  and  in  subsequent  papers, 
there  are  numerous  compounds  which  are  germicidal  in  high  dilu- 
tion in  water,  but  which  lose  this  property  entirely  when  diluted  in 
urine  and  which  even  permit  the  growth  of  organisms  in  urine  when 
in  relatively  strong  concentration.    This  astonishing  fact  has  proved 
