Am.  Jour.  Phabm 
March  1, 1872, 
*M-}   On  the  Absorption  of  Blue  Ointment,  &c.  115 
lated  powder  is  accomplished  on  a  stove  at  a  temperature  of  30°  to 
35°  C.  The  product  will  contain  one-fifth  of  its  weight  of  cod-liver 
oil.  It  should  be  kept  in  well-closed  bottles. — Pharm.  Journal  and 
Transactions,  Jan.  20,  1872. 
ON  THE  ABSORPTION  OF  BLUE  OINTMENT  AND  OF  SUBLI- 
MATE BY  THE  UNWOUNDED  SKIN. 
A  microscopico-chemical  study  has  appeared  by  Professor  Dr.  Neu- 
mann, which  is  very  interesting.  He  says  there  are  five  questions  to 
answer  to  : — 
1.  Does  mercury,  rubbed  into  the  un wounded  skin,  penetrate 
through  it  into  the  organism  ? 
2.  What  are  the  ways  by  which  mercury  enters  the  body  ? 
3.  Can  the  hypothesis  (that  mercury  enters  the  body  in  the  form 
of  metal,  and  that  it  circulates  in  that  form  in  the  blood)  be  proved 
by  the  microscope  ? 
4.  Can  the  mercury  rubbed  into  the  skin  be  found  in  the  interior 
organs  chemically  or  microscopically  ? 
5.  Is  corrosive  sublimate,  dissolved  in  a  bath,  received  by  the  un- 
wounded  skin  ? 
Dr.  Neumann  asserts  that  the  known  physical  properties  of  the 
globules  of  mercury  in  blue  ointment  are  only  appreciated  under  a 
certain  limit,  beyond  which  limit  even  the  best  microscopist  can  no 
longer  make  a  difference  between  globules  of  mercury  and  bubbles  of 
air,  molecular  grease,  molecular  detritus,  microconus,  carbonate  of 
lime. 
That  question  can  only  be  resolved  by  combined  method  : — 
a.  First  the  entering  of  the  globules  must  be  proved. 
b.  Then  their  presence  in  the  blood  and  in  the  organs  must  be 
searched  for  chemically. 
The  best  method  for  that  is  Professor  Schneider's,  who  makes  an 
amalgam  by  small  leaves  of  gold,  and  by  the  mercury  excreted  from 
the  body,  when  a  metallic  mirror  is  created ;  then  by  combination 
with  vapours  of  iodine,  the  iodide  of  mercury  appears  by  its  charac- 
teristic color  and  crystals. 
Experiments  have  been  made  on  dogs,  rabbits,  frogs,  on  the  skin 
of  new-born  children,  and  on  living  men,  and  on  those  parts  of  the 
body  which  were  destined  for  amputation ;  then  on  bladders  and 
pericardium. 
