PKEFACF..

IX

Again, mercury is by several writers (as Drs. Cullen 11 , Chapman * 1 * * * * * 7 ,Young m , and Eberle") placed in the class of sialogogues ; by many (asDr. A. T. Thomson 0 , MM. Edwards and Vavasseur p , and MM. Trous-seau and Pidoux q ) among excitants ; by some (as Conradi, Bertele, andHorn r ) it is considered to be sedative; by one (Dr. Wilson Philip ! ) tobe stimulant in small doses, and sedative in large ones; by some (asDr. John Murray ') it is placed among tonics; by another (Vogt u )among the resolventia alterantia; by one (Sundelin x ) among the lique-facients ( verflussigende Mittel) ; by the followers of Broussais (as Begin J )among revulsives ; by the Italians (as Giacomini z ) among contra-stimu-lants or hyposthenics; by others (as Barbier la ) among the incertaisedis!!

The author is fully aware of the objections which some will be dis-posed to raise to the natural-historical and chemical details contained inthis work. But, with due deference to the opinions of others, he thinksthe absence of these subjects would render the present volume incom-plete. A knowledge of them, it is true, is not essential to the successfulpractice of our profession ; but surely a physician will not make a worsepractitioner because he is acquainted with the natural history andchemistry of the agents he is employing in the treatment of disease.The author is not ambitious to raise into unnecessary importance thesetopics ; yet he cannot help expressing his belief, that they, who are theloudest in decrying the value and utility of natural history and chemistry

k Op. cit.

1 Elements of Materia Medica and Therapeutics. 2 vols. 4th ed. Philadelphia . 1825.” An Introduction to Medical Literature; art. Pharmacology. 2d ed. London . 1823.n Treatise on Materia Medica and Therapeutics. 2 vols. 2d ed. Philadelphia . 1825,0 Op. cit.

p Manuel de Matiere Medicate, Paris . 1831.

*> Traite de Therapeutique, tom. i. Paris . 1836.

' Quoted by Richter (Ausf 'uhrliche Arzneimittellehre, Bd. v. 307. 1830).

■ On the Influence of Minute Doses of Mercury. Loudon. 1834.

‘ Op. cit.

u Lehrbuch der Pharmakodynamik. 2 Bd. 2 te Aufl. Giessen. 1828.x Handbuch der Speciellen Heilmittellehre. 3 le Aull. Berlin. 1833.

7 Traitt de Therapeutique. Paris . 1825.

z Trattato filosofleo-sperimentale dei Soccorsi Terapeutici. Padova. 1833.

" Op. cit.