Am,  Jocr.  Phaem.  "I 
Sept.  1,1871.  i 
Pharmacy  in  Prussia,  etc. 
391 
ceives  the  prescriptions  from  the  public  and  returns  them  with  the 
medicine.* 
The  Prussian  Pharmacopoeia  is  edited  by  authority  and  order  of  the 
•  government,  the  present  one  being  the  seventh  of  all  its  editions.  The 
Ministry  of  Public  Instruction  and  of  Ecclesiastic  and  Medical  affairs 
appoints  a  commission  of  experts  for  revising  and  publishing  new  edi- 
tions. This  commission,  consisting  of  men  regarded  as  authorities  in 
the  pharmaceutical  and  medical  professions,  usually  requests  the  most 
prominent  physicians  and  apothecaries  throughout  the  country  to  sug- 
gest alterations,  amendments  or  additions,  which,  after  due  and  mature 
consideration,  are  framed  into  a  draft  which  once  more  is  submitted  to 
the  medical  and  pharmaceutical  professions  for  the  purpose  of  eliciting 
criticism  and  further  emendation.  This  is  followed  by  the  final  revision, 
which  being  accomplished,  the  work  is  submitted  for  approval  to  the  Min- 
istry and  hereafter  also  to  the  Imperial  Chancellory,  when  it  is  published 
and  becomes  authoritative  for  the  entire  country  by  virtue  of  a  pre- 
fixed imperial  order,  which,  together  with  the  tables  added  after  the 
text,  contains  the  legal  regulations  in  relation  to  the  purchase  and 
manufacture  of  pharmaceutical  drugs  and  preparations,  to  the  keeping, 
dispensing  and  the  allowed  maximum  doses  of  the  powerful  medicines 
and  poisons.  If  a  physician  prescribes  a  larger  than  the  highest  dose 
allowed  according  to  the  tables  appended  to  the  Pharmacopoeia,  he 
must  upon  the  prescription  add  the  mark  (!)  otherwise  the  apothecary 
is  bound  to  send  the  prescription,  before  dispensing  the  medicine,  to 
the  prescriber  for  verification,  or  in  cases  of  urgent  necessity  even  to 
another  physician  for  endorsement. 
Poisons  and  powerful  medicines  must  be  kept  in  the  store  as  well 
as  in  the  stock-rooms,  in  separate  places  and  closets.  The  poison 
closets,  which  are  always  locked,  are  provided  with  different  compart- 
ments and  contain  also  scales,  mortars,  pill-machines  and  other  utensils 
requisite  for  dispensing,  and  used  only  in  connection  with  medicines 
containing  poisons.  The  labels  on  the  poison  closet,  on  the  bottles 
and  drawers  are  in  red  letters  on  white  ground.  The  prescriptions 
containing  poisons  are  also  kept  in  the  poison  closet  and  are  entered 
into  the  poison  book.  This  arrangement  and  separation  effectually 
guard  against  mistakes,  as  well  as  against  carelessness  in  the  hand- 
*In  Germany  the  prescriptions  are  legally  the  property  of  the  patients  or  the 
persons  who  paid  for  them,  and  are  invariably  returned  with  the  medicine, 
except  when  temporarily  retained  on  account  of  non-payment. 
