252  SOLUTIONS  OF  MORPHINE  AND  CAFFEINE  IN  CHLOROFORM. 
adaptable  to  all  fevers  originating  from  colds.  But  where  the 
tongue  is  dry,  or  becomes  so  after  taking  it — which  is  rarely  the 
case — it  must  be  omitted.  Its  action  on  the  spine  and  cerebel- 
lum is  also  remarkable.  In  fevers  of  children,  where  diarrhoea 
is  present,  and  the  brain  more  or  less  implicated,  and  opiates 
inadmissable,  it  gives  prompt  relief  by  reducing  the  fever,  pro- 
moting the  action  of  the  skin,  and  gradually  checking  the  diar- 
rhoea and  removing  all  cerebral  symptoms.  The  dose  for  adults 
if  from  3ss — oj  every  hour  or  two,  and  may,  with  advantage,  be 
given  in  the  form  of  a  mixture  in  combination  with  nitrate  of 
soda,  acetate  of  potassa  or  bi-carbonate  of  soda. —  Gin.  Lancet 
and  Observer,  March,  1868.  . 
SOLUTIONS   OF  MORPHIA  AND    CAFFEIN  IN  CHLORO- 
FORM. 
By  Prof.  W.  Bernatzic,  in  Vienna. 
Prof.  Bernatzic  communicates  the  following  formula  for  ob- 
taining a  uniform  and  permanent  combination  of  morphia  with 
chloroform,  viz.:  three  grains  of  pure  morphia  are  dissolved, 
with  the  aid  of  three  drops  of  strongest  acetic  acid  and  the  ap- 
plication of  gentle  heat,  in  one  drachm  of  strong  alcohol  (93*94 
p.  c),  to  which,  when  cold,  is  added  one-half  ounce  of  chloro-* 
form.  Three  drops  of  this  solution  have  been  found  to  corres- 
pond to  one  grain ;  hence,  thirty  drops  (ten  grains)  contain  one- 
tenth  of  a  grain  of  morphia,  which  may  be  considered  as  an  ave- 
rage dose.  The  efficacy  of  tbis  solution  is  undoubtedly  due  to 
the  morphia  mainly,  and  the  dose  should  be  regulated  by  the 
amount  of  the  latter.  Yet  the  action  of  the  chloroform  should 
not  be  undervalued,  as  it  not  only  directly  increases  the  anaes- 
thetic effect  of  the  morphia,  but  enhances  it  also  by  favoring 
the  absorption  of  the  latter  at  the  seat  of  application,  by  reason 
of  its  own  high  degree  of  diffusibility.  Locally  applied,  the  in- 
fluence of  the  chloroform  is  first  felt  with  its  undesirable  irri- 
tating action,  but  gradually  an  anaesthetic  effect  becomes  mani- 
fest, which  neither  of  these  remedies  alone  are  capable  of  pro- 
ducing. 
Most  frequently  the  remedy  proved  useful  in  toothache,  ap- 
