Am.. J  our.  Pharm.  \ 
July,  1883.  i 
Varieties. 
377 
VARIETIES. 
Naphthalin  as  an  Antiseptic— Owing  to  the  occasional  startling 
constitutional  effects  produced  by  the  topical  application  of  iodoform, 
attempts  have  been  made  in  various  directions  to  discover  some  antiseptic 
which  would  be  as  useful  as  that  drug,  but  free  from  its  disadvantages. 
Fischer  (Strasburg)  claims  that  he  has  found  such  an  antiseptic  in  naph- 
thalin. 
Naphthalin  is  available  for  all  the  jDurposes  to  which  iodoform  has  been 
applied,  and  as  yet  no  constitutional  eflfects  have  been  observed  to  follow  its 
use  locally. 
It  is  as  powerful  an  antiseptic  and  "antibacteric"  as  iodoform,  and  has  a 
less  disagreeable  smell.  Its  application  causes  a  slight  transitory  sensation 
of  heat,  but  no  pain.  Anschiltz  states  that  very  sensitive  granulations 
sometimes  bleed  very  freely  after  it  has  been  applied,  owing  to  the  sharj) 
angles  of  the  hard  crystal.  This  can  be  obviated  by  using  it  in  fine  jDowder, 
though  if  there  is  much  discharge  it  is  then  apt  to  form  a  crust  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  granulations.  When  the  crystalline  form  is  used  the  discharges 
escape  freely. — Centralhl.  f.  Chir.;  Dental  Cosmos^  Ai:>ril,  1883. 
A  Case  of  Bohic  Acid  Poisoning  has  been  reported  by  Prof.  Bruzelius 
CHyyiea,"  1882,  p.  557).  A  i^atient  suffering  from  diarrhfpa  was  given 
ten  enemata  of  1400  gr.  of  4  per  cent,  solution  of  the  acid  ;  after  four  days  he 
had  four  more.  On  the  ninth  day  he  suffered  from  congestion  and  irrita- 
tion of  the  nasal  and  pharyngeal  mucous  membrane.  On  the  eleventh  day 
the  rectal  temperature  rose  to  39° ;  on  the  twelfth  day  it  was  39*8°,  and  there 
were  cephalalgia,  somnolence  and  prostration.  On  the  fifteenth  day  a  well 
marked  erythema  appeared,  which  in  three  days  gave  place  to  an  urticaria. 
Even  nine  days  after  the  last  enema  the  urine  contained  boric  acid. — 
Weekly/  Med.  Rev.,  March  10,  1883. 
Ethidene  dichloride— A  death  recentlj^  occurred  at  the  Liverpool 
Eye  and  Ear  Infirmary  during  the  administration  of  dichloride  of  ethi- 
dene. The  heart  had  been  pronounced  healthy.  The  an?esthetic  had  been 
given  on  a  flannel  inhaler,  and  the  patient  came  quickly  under  its  influ- 
ence. Suddenly  the  pulse  became  feeble  and  then  stopped.  In  spite  of  all 
and  well  directed  efforts  the  patient  never  revived.  There  is  a  record  of 
about  two  hundred  administrations  of  the  drug;  its  pleasant  smell  being  in 
its  favor,  as  well  as  the  fact  that  but  little  nausea  or  disposition  to  struggle 
are  caused  by  it. —  Weekly  Med.  Rev.,  1883,  Mar  eh  24. 
Paraldehyde  :  a  new  hypnotic— The  actions  of  this  drug  were  first 
studied  by  Dr.  Cervello,  of  Palermo ;  and  his  experiments  were  made  in 
the  laboratory  of  Experimental  Pharmacology  at  Strasburg,  under  the  di- 
rection of  Schmiedeberg.  Professor  Morselli,  of  the  Royal  Asylum  of 
Turin,  has,  in  conjunction  with  Dr.  Bergesis,  the  assistant  medical  ofllcer, 
made  an  extensive  series  of  observations  with  it.  Its  chemical  composition 
is  Cg  H,2  O. ;  and  it  is  a  polymeric  form  of  aldehyde.    In  physiological 
