374 
Editorial. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
July.  1895. 
EDITORIAL. 
THE  NEED  OF  MORE  CHEMISTRY  BY  THE  MEMBERS  OF  THE  MEDICAL 
PROFESSION. 
It  is  true  that  there  are  some  members  of  the  medical  profession  who  are 
•skilled  chemists,  and  such  have  an  advantage  over  their  brethren  which  cannot 
be  estimated.  The  great  majority  of  physicians,  however,  are  handicapped  by 
dense  ignorance  of  even  the  elements  of  chemistry,  either  because  they  have 
forgotten,  or  because  they  never  knew.  Most  of  these  know  enough  to  let  the 
subject  alone,  but  a  few  do  not,  and  rush  into  print  with  statements  that  must 
'be  startling  to  the  average  chemist. 
We  have  been  led  to  make  these  remarks  by  reading  a  paper  on  Calomel 
"read  in  the  Section  on  Practice  of  Medicine,  at  the  Forty-sixth  Annual  Meet- 
ing of  the  American  Medical  Association,  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  May  7-10,  1895," 
.and  published  in  the  journal  of  the  Association,  June  1  (Vol.  24,  page  836). 
The  author,  very  early  in  his  paper,  makes  the  following  sweeping  statement: 
"Calomel  is  subject  to  adulteration;  to  improper  purification  in  manufacture;  and  to 
cheruic  changes  both  atmospheric  and  in  chemic  mixtures.  Bichlorid  of  mercury  is  the  most 
common  impurity  found  in  it,  and  this  varies  from  the  smallest  trace  to  comparatively  large 
amounts.    *   *  * 
"  On  the  other  hand,  calomel  may  contain  such  large  amounts  of  barium,  calcium,  lead 
and  other  impurities  that  its  action  is  greatly  lessened  and  rendered  almost  inert.  With  these 
thoughts  before  us,  and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  making  appropriate  chemic  tests  for  their 
confirmation,  we  can  often  explain  untoward  actions  which  might  otherwise  be  attributed  to 
a  pure  preparation." 
The  inference  to  be  drawn  from  the  foregoing  quotation  is,  that  between 
adulteration  and  dilution  the  unfortunate  patient  to  whom  calomel  is  admin- 
istered has  a  very  slim  chance  of  recovery. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  calomel  is  very  rarely  adulterated,  and  still  more  rarely 
does  it  contain  corrosive  sublimate  or  any  other  impurity.  Probably  no  official 
chemical  has  received  more  study  and  care  at  the  hands  of  manufacturing 
chemists  than  has  calomel.  Its  production  is  attempted  only  by  a  very  few  of 
the  largest  manufacturers,  which  fact  alone  is  somewhat  of  a  safeguard,  since 
an  impure  lot  would  certainly  be  traced  to  its  origin.  Then  it  does  not  occur 
in  isolated  crystals,  as  suggested  by  the  author  of  the  aforesaid  paper,  but  is 
usually  amorphous,  or  nearly  so;  the  Pharmacopoeia  requiring  it  to  be  "a  white 
impalpable  powder,  becoming  yellowish-white  on  being  triturated  with  strong 
pressure,  and  showing  only  small  isolated  crystals  under  a  magnifying  power 
of  one  hundred  diameters." 
That  such  a  paper  with  such  chemistry  in  it  should  have  been  read  where  it 
was  is  not  surprising;  but  not  only  was  it  printed  with  all  its  faulty  nomencla- 
ture in  the  journal  of  the  Association,  but  it  was  discussed  in  the  meeting  in  a 
way  to  give  it  support,  except  that  one  member  questioned  the  statement  about 
contamination  with  corrosive  sublimate,  and  announced  that  he  had,  with  the 
aid  of  a  prominent  chemist,  been  unable  to  find  any  samples  of  calomel  that 
contained  corrosive  sublimate.  The  reader  is  staggered,  however,  by  the  fol- 
lowing statement  from  the  same  member:  "We  might  have  some  oxid  of 
calomel,  but  there  was  no  single  instance  in  which  bichlorid  of  mercury  was 
found." 
