Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition.Thomson, Alexis
Science
Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition.
Thomson, Alexis
Surgery
_Methods of Administering Mercury._--(1) _By the Mouth._--This was for
long the most popular method in this country, the preparation usually
employed being grey powder, in pills or tablets, each of which contains
one grain of the powder. Three of these are given daily in the first
instance, and the daily dose is increased to five or even seven grains
till the standard for the individual patient is arrived at. As the grey
powder alone sometimes causes irritation of the bowels, it should be
combined with iron, as in the following formula: Hydrarg. c. cret. gr. 1;
ferri sulph. exsiccat. gr. 1 or 2.
(2) _By Inunction._--Inunction consists in rubbing into the pores of the
skin an ointment composed of equal parts of 20 per cent. oleate of
mercury and lanolin. Every night after a hot bath, a dram of the
ointment (made up by the chemist in paper packets) is rubbed for fifteen
minutes into the skin where it is soft and comparatively free from
hairs. When the patient has been brought under the influence of the
mercury, inunction may be replaced by one of the other methods, of
administering the drug.
(3) _By Intra-muscular Injection._--This consists in introducing the
drug by means of a hypodermic syringe into the substance of the gluteal
muscles. The syringe is made of glass, and has a solid glass piston; the
needle of platino-iridium should be 5 cm. long and of a larger calibre
than the ordinary hypodermic needle. The preparation usually employed
consists of: metallic mercury or calomel 1 dram, lanolin and olive oil
each 2 drams; it must be warmed to allow of its passage through the
needle. Five minims--containing one grain of metallic mercury--represent
a dose, and this is injected into the muscles above and behind the great
trochanter once a week. The contents of the syringe are slowly
expressed, and, after withdrawing the needle, gentle massage of the
buttock should be employed. Four courses each of ten injections are
given the first year, three courses of the same number during the second
and third years, and two courses during the fourth year (Lambkin).
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