“We would like simply to say that the physician and the Council must be aware of the circumstances and the purposes which actuated us in placing lecithin at disposal, viz., the studies--research--of lecithin and the properties attributed to it and which led to inquiry for and consideration of it. The _quantities_ proposed for medicinal use were not suggested by us; the suggestion of lecithin in small quantities as a therapeutic agent was obviously directed by those who proposed it.... The question whether lecithin, per se, has therapeutic properties in contrast to lecithin as naturally contained in food substances, is something we do not undertake to decide. The Council, on purely theoretical grounds, decides in the negative notwithstanding clinical experience--internal and hypodermic--and thus would deny lecithin the status of a new and nonofficial remedy, worthy of at least tentative progressive clinical consideration. We can only say that we offered bona fide lecithin and that we did not make the investigation of lecithin a pretext for the sale of all sorts of lecithin ‘jumbles’ with lecithin in small proportions, taking their name and making their bid on lecithin.” Below appears the general article which has been omitted from N. N. R.: Lecithin Preparations Lecithins are fat-like bodies belonging to the group of phosphatides. They all consist of glyceryl esters containing two fatty acid radicals and the phosphoric acid radical in which one of the residual hydrogens is replaced by the choline group. The fatty acid may be palmitic, oleic or stearic and various combinations are known to exist; for example, distearyl lecithin, stearyl palmityl lecithin and so on. The commercial lecithins usually include the closely related kephalins. On saponification the lecithins split more or less readily into choline, the fatty acids and glycerophosphoric acid, and by fusion with alkali nitrate and carbonate they yield alkali phosphate. They occur, free or in combination as lecithoproteins, most abundantly in certain animal tissues, but there are also vegetable lecithins. The lecithins of commerce are obtained usually from yolks of eggs or from calves’ or sheep’s brains. Numerous processes have been devised for the preparation of lecithin from egg-yolk or animal tissue. From egg-yolk it may be obtained by making an alcoholic extract and precipitating by cadmium chloride. The precipitate is washed with alcohol and ether, mixed with 80 per cent. alcohol and warmed with the proper amount of ammonium carbonate to remove the cadmium. After filtering hot and concentrating the filtrate the lecithin is thrown down by cooling to a low temperature--10 C. or below. The precipitate is taken up in chloroform and reprecipitated by acetone.