Ami£Z'w*Tm'}  Oxygen  and  its  Medicinal  Application.  II 
It  presents  a  singular  complication  that  in  the  remedies  of  those 
who  are  requested  to  furnish  the  means  of  cure  in  possible  cases  of 
such  metallic  poisoning,  the  same  deleterious  substances  are  found, 
which  cause  disease  and,  perhaps,  death  in  others. 
One  remedy  is,  however,  in  the  hands  of  the  pharmacist  to  guard 
against  such  a  possibility,  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  at  the  pres- 
ent time  it  is  so  seldom  used  if  not  almost  impossible — the  method 
of  self-preparation. 
OXYGEN  AND  ITS  MEDICINAL  APPLICATION. 
By  Joseph  W.  England,  Ph.G. 
Read  at  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy,  Dec.  15, 
It  was  a  happy  thought  of  the  rational  therapeutist  to  suggest  the 
employment  of  oxygen  gas  as  a  remedial  agent.  To  Dr.  S.  B. 
Birch,  of  England,  belongs  the  credit  of  first  using  it  in  that  country 
in  1857.  Demarquay,  in  1866,  gave  an  exhaustive  history  of  pre- 
vious experiments  together  with  much  original  matter,  while  in  this 
country,  Dr.  S.  S.  Wallian,  in  1869,  and  Dr.  A.  H.  Smith,  in  1870, 
made  the  subject  one  of  special  inquiry.  All  of  these  results, 
however,  failed  to  enlist  medical  sympathy,  and  it  was  not  until 
1883,  when  a  lengthy  paper  of  Dr.  Wallian's  was  published  on  the 
subject,  that  medical  thought  was  directed  towards  its  value.  Since 
that  time  its  use  has  gradually  extended,  until  to-day  it  is  very 
generally  accepted  as  one  of  the  best  respiratory  stimulants  known. 
The  reason  for  this  is  apparent,  when  it  is  stated  that  it  gives  the 
oxygen  carriers  of  the  blood — the  red  blood  corpuscles — five  times 
as  much  oxygen  as  they  usually  obtain  from  the  air,  and  thus 
enables  them  to  carry  five  times  their  usual  quantity  of  oxygen 
gas  to  the  tissues  for  oxidation  purposes.  With  its  increasing  use,, 
it  is  desirable  that  we,  as  pharmacists,  should  be  thoroughly 
familiar  with  the  manner  of  its  making,  so  that  the  physician's 
wants  can  be  readily  supplied.  With  this  object  in  view,  this  paper 
has  been  written.  / 
Oxygen  of  itself  is  not  difficult  of  preparation ;  the  main  thing 
in  its  making  is  care  to  prevent  the  presence  of  impurities.  The 
most  dangerous  of  these  is  chlorine  gas,  which  must  be  excluded. 
Oxygen  gas  may  be  obtained  commercially  in  steel  cylinders  con- 
taining 100  gallons  of  compressed  gas,  but  as  good  and  a  far  cheaper 
product  can  be  made  with  one  of  the  different  oxygen  apparatus 
