838 
Current  Literature. 
!Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
November,  1920. 
Rapid  Preparation  of  Mercurial  Ointment. — The  addition 
of  lanoline  to  the  lard  in  which  mercury  is  to  be  divided  in  making 
mercury  ointment  is  one  of  the  most  efficacious  methods  of  over- 
coming the  difficulties  encountered  in  incorporating  the  mercury. 
Considering  that  the  action  of  the  lanoline  is  due  to  its  content  of 
cholesterin,  Dr.  G.  Fontes  has  experimented  with  the  addition  of 
that  substance  to  lard  with  and  without  the  subsequent  admixture 
of  water  and  reports  the  following  results : 
lOO  Gms.  lard,  with  2.5%  cholesterin  immediately  absorbed  490  Gms.  mer- 
cury. 
100  Gms.  lard,  with  2.5  %  cholesterin  and  20  Gms.  of  water  absorbed  575 
Gms.  mercury. 
100  Gms.  lard,  with  2.5%  cholesterin  and  50  Gms.  of  water  absorbed  970 
Gms.  mercury. 
100  Gms.  lard,  with  5%  cholesterin  absorbed  immediately,  1,500  Gms.  mer- 
cury. 
100  Gms.  lard,  with  5%  cholesterin  and  100  Gms.  of  water  absorbed  1,900 
Gms.  mercury. 
100  Gms.  lard,  with  5%  cholesterin  and  160  Gms.  of  water  absorbed  3,000 
Gms.  mercury. 
The  lard  and  cholesterin  were  melted  together,  the  water  was 
then  incorporated  and  to  the  mixture  the  mercury  was  added  in 
small  portions  stirring  with  a  pestle.  The  metal  was  rapidly  incor- 
porated (extinction  parfait).  Ten  minutes  trituration  sufficed  to 
make  the  ointment.  The  product  may  be  readily  diluted  with  a 
fatty  material  or  with  petrolatum.    (/.  Pharm.  Chim.,  1920,  p.  195.) 
J.  F.  C. 
Benzyl  Benzoate  in  Hiccup.^ — Macht  has  found  benzyl  benzoate 
to  be  an  invaluable  medicine  in  the  treatment  of  persistent  hiccup  of 
both  adults  and  children.  Not  only  has  it  been  found  useful  in  al- 
laying the  ordinary  mild  forms  of  hiccup  so  common  in  infants,  but 
the  drug  has  been  found  to  be  efficient  in  stopping  those  forms  of 
hiccup  termed  pernicious,  that  is,  those  cases  in  which  the  phenome- 
non persisted  for  long  periods  of  time,  from  twenty-four  hours  to 
several  days,  and  in  which  the  singultus  was  unaffected  by  all  other 
forms  of  medicinal  treatment,  both  external  and  internal.  Macht 
believes  that  benzyl  benzoate  also  is  of  diagnostic  value  in  differ- 
entiating between  the  hiccups  of  a  purely  central  origin,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  those  which  are  due  to  some  peripheral  origin,  on  the 
other.  In  as  much  as  benzyl  benzoate  exerts  its  chief  effect  periph- 
erally on  the  smooth  muscle  structures,  the  author  is  inclined  to 
