CHLORODYNE. 
209 
officinal  standard  are  of  only  approximate  uniformity  in  physical 
composition. 
The  still  more  important  inquiry  into  the  chemical  and  thera- 
peutical composition  of  the  respective  grades,  as  separated  by 
sifting,  which  would  be  a  difficult  though  important  inquiry, 
'  -does  not  enter  into  the  scope  of  this  essay. 
CHLORODYNE. 
By  Edward  McInall,  Jr. 
(An  Inaugural  Essay,  presented  to  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy.) 
An  empirical  preparation  called  chlorodyne,  of  which  so  much 
has  been  said  during  the  past  few  years,  originated  in  England, 
about  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty.  The  one  claiming 
to  be  original  was  that  introduced  by  Dr.  J.  Collis  Brown,  • 
and  since  its  introduction  there  have  been  many  imitations, 
both  in  Europe  and  the  United  States.  Among  some  of  the 
English  preparations  may  be  mentioned  Freeman's  Chlorodyne 
and  Towle's  Chlorodyne,  all  purporting  to  be  original  articles, 
but  I  think  that  of  Brown  has  the  proper  claim  to  originality. 
Owing  to  the  cost  of  importation  and  indeed  its  high  price  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  many  of  our  Pharmaceutists  have 
been  induced  to  imitate  it. 
I  have  examined  the  many  published  formulas,  but  find  most 
of  them  in  a  degree  impracticable.  The  Chlorodyne  of  Brown 
is  a  thick  viscid  mixture,  having  a  strong  chloroformic  odor  com- 
bined with  the  pungency  of  capsicum,  with  a  greenish  hue. 
Now  the  advantage  of  being  syrupy  is,  I  think,  entirely  un- 
warranted. The  idea  of  using  glycerine  or  treacle  is  to  unite  the 
morphia  and  chloroform  more  intimately  together;  but  what  may 
the  need  be,  if  it  can  be  done  without. 
Another  disadvantage  in  some  of  these  imitations  is  the  use 
of  oil  of  peppermint.  The  liability  of  mistaking  chlorodyne 
for  essence  of  peppermint,  as  now  directed  by  our  Pharmaco- 
poeia, at  once  suggests  the  abandonment  of  the  use  of  pepper- 
mint as  a  flavoring  ingredient  in  so  powerful  a  combination. 
I  was  led  to  make,  not  an  imitation  of  Brown's,  but  a  prepara- 
tion in  which  efficacy  and  practicability  were  combined.    In  the 
14 
