Am.  jour,  pharm.  |  Current  Literature.  125 
February,  19 19.  J  x  O 
useful.  A  reference  to  its  use  in  choleraic  diarrhoea  in  India  ap- 
peared in  The  Prescriber,  June,  p.  in. 
The  suggestion  has  also  been  made  that  it  may  be  used  in  typhoid 
fever,  but  few  authentic  cases  have  been  recorded  of  its  employ- 
ment in  this  disease.  From  the  fact  that  a  minute  trace  of  copper 
has  been  found  to  kill  the  Bacillus  typhosus  in  an  hour,  it  would 
appear  reasonable  to  try  the  salt.    (The  Prestriber,  August,  1918.) 
Therapeutic  Action  of  "  Benzol." — The  frequent  references  . 
in  current  medical  literature  to  the  use  of  "benzol"  in  leukaemia 
make  it  desirable  to  have  definite  information  as  to  the  actual  sub- 
stance that  is  referred  to.  Benzol  (B.  P.,  1898)  is  not  suitable  for 
medicinal  use,  and  the  substance  referred  to  in  this  connection  is 
what  is  more  correctly  known  as  Benzene,  or  crystallizable  benzol, 
now  official  as  benzenum  (B.  P.,  19 14),  C6H6.  This  is  a  hydro- 
carbon obtained  by  the  fractional  distillation  of  coal  tar,  and  is  a 
colorless,  mobile  liquid,  sp.  gr.  0.880  to  0.887.  When  cooled  to  o° 
C.  it  solidifies.  The  benzol  of  the  1898  Pharmacopoeia  is  a  mixture 
of  hydrocarbons,  and  is  suitable  only  for  cleaning  purposes  or  as  a 
solvent. 
The  action  of  medicinal  benzene  is  described  in  the  list  of  new 
and  non-official  remedies  published  by  the  American  Medical  Asso- 
ciation, from  which  the  following  extract  is  taken: 
"When  swallowed,  this  drug  usually  produces  a  sensation  of 
burning  in  the  stomach.  Benzene  is  a  narcotic  which,  when  swal- 
lowed or  inhaled,  produces  vertigo,  delirium,  and  tonic  convulsions, 
followed  by  deep  sleep ;  30  Cc.  (one  ounce)  of  nearly  pure  benzene 
has  proved  fatal.  In  some  cases  the  chronic  poisoning  petechial 
spots,  due  to  small  hemorrhages,  have  been  observed.  These  spots 
have  been  attributed  to  fatty  degeneration  of  the  blood  vessels.  It 
produces  leucocytosis  followed  by  leucopenia,  with  an  occasional  in- 
creased number  of  erythrocytes.  Larger  doses  may  produce  an 
aplastic  anaemia.  Benzene  has  been  used  occasionally  on  account  , 
of  its  narcotic  properties,  and  has  also  been  used  as  an  intestinal 
antiseptic.  It  is,  however,  rarely  used  for  these  purposes  at  the 
present  time.  It  has  been  somewhat  extensively  used  in  the  treat- 
ment of  leukaemia.  Moderate  doses  cause  a  rapid  destruction  of 
leucocytes,  especially  the  lymphocytes.  This  action  is  accompanied 
by  an  improvement  in  the  subjective  symptoms,  and,  in  some  cases, 
by  a  marked  reduction  in  the  size  of  the  spleen.    In  many  cases 
