British Pharmacopoeia

Contents: Preface. Abbreviations. 1. Symbols and equivalent weights of the elementary bodies. 2. Weights and measures of the British and other pharmacopoeias. 3. Metric measures and standards. 4. Weights avoirdupois compared with the metric. 5. Imperial weights and measures with the metric equivalents. 6. Thermometers-fahrenheit, centigrade, and Reamur compared. 7. Alcohol table. 8. Beaume’s hydrometer table for liquids heavier than water. 9. Table of materia medica of the organic kingdom, showing from what source the drugs are obtained, and into what preparations they enter.. 10. A tabulated comparison of the chief standardized potent preparations of the British, United States, German and French Pharmacopoeias. 11. Materaia Medica arranged in Alphabetical order, under which are given first, all the pharmacopoeial preparations, with the medicinal properties and doses, each of which is compared with those of the continental pharmacopoeias and of the United States Pharmacopoeia; then follow the not official preparations, such as are frequently prescribed, but are not found in the British pharmacopoeia. 12. Therapeutic agents of bacterial origin. 13. Chemical reagents, etc., used in qualitative testing. 14. Volumetric analysis. 15. Indicators of neutrality. 16. Thermometric memoranda and special tests. 17. Spas of Europe, enumerating first those of Britain, afterwards the continental, giving the locality, temperature, season, and medicinal properties. 18. Spas classified as to their temperature and properties. 19. Therapeutical classification of remedies. 20. Remedies for special ailments. General index.

“The seventh edition of Squire’s Companion was published in 1899, and since that time a great advance has been made in the testing of drugs and chemicals used in medicine; a very large number of new synthetic products have also been introduced. Several foreign pharmacopoeias have issued new editions, viz., Austrian, Belgian, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Swiss and United States; the Japanese is a new Pharmacopoeia.

To bring Squire’s Companion up to date and to make it conform to modern requirements, it has been necessary to practically rewrite it from cover to cover. The general arrangement of the book remains the same as before. Substances which are official in the British Pharmacopoeia have the names in larger type than those which are, not official and the same distinction also applies to the preparations, it is therefore quite easy to see at a glance whether any particular substance or preparation is official or not. This is, moreover, supplemented by a list of ‘official’ and ‘not official’ preparations given under each substance immediately following the dose, so that a prescriber can quickly ascertain the various forms in which any medicament can be given. Following the precedent of the previous editions, the formulas are given in parts, solids by weight, liquids by measure, and where it has been necessary to depart from this course, it is stated in the text. In dealing with German and other continental pharmacopoeias, it must be understood that parts refer to parts by weight. The arrangement of the matter and the headings to the several paragraphs, which have always been the distinctive feature of the Companion have been retained ‘solubility, ‘Medicinal properties,’ dose,’ ‘prescribing notes,’ ‘incompatibles,’ list of ‘official preparations,’ ‘antidotes’ and ‘foreign pharmacopoeias,’ this arrangement having been found very convenient to those who use the work as a book of reference. The term ‘Medicinal Properties,’ although very old-fashioned, has been retained in order to keep the plan of the book uniform with previous editions; this portion has been carefully read and corrected by Dr. Taylor Grant.

The ‘Descriptive Notes’ have been written specially for this book by Mr. E.M. Holmes; they deal with the principal distinguishing features of the vegetable drugs, the commercial qualities, and the probable contaminations and sophistications. He has also assisted in the revision of the organic materia medica.”