6. (Peschier.) Ethereal extract of male fern, 30 drops; extract of dandelion, 1 dr.; powdered rhizomes of male fern, q. s. to mix. For 30 pills. In tapeworm.—Dose, 6 to 15, at bedtime; the dose being repeated in the morning, and then followed in an hour by a strong dose of castor oil.
Pills, Wordsell’s (Kaye’s). Prep. (Cooley.) Powdered aloes, gamboge, and ginger, equal parts; together with a very small quantity of diaphoretic antimony, beaten into a mass with either syrup or treacle, and divided into 21⁄2-gr. pills. “There are about 41⁄2 dozen pills in each 1s. 11⁄2d. box.” “The dose, as given in the directions, is from 2 to 8 pills (or even 10 to 12) daily.” (‘Anat. of Quackery.’) They frequently operate with great violence.
Pills, Wyndham’s (Lee’s). Prep. (Cooley.) Aloes and gamboge, of each (in powder) 3 oz.; Castile soap and extract of cow-parsnip, of each 1 oz.; nitre, 1⁄2 oz. For 5-gr. pills. A powerful drastic cathartic.—Dose, 1 to 3 pills.
Pills of Zinc. See Pills of Oxide, Sulphate and Valerianate of Zinc, &c.
PILOCARPINE. Prep. Exhaust the leaves or bark of Jaborandi with 80% alcohol, to which hydrochloric acid has been added in the proportion of 8 grains per litre; distil and evaporate to the consistence of an extract. Redissolve the extract with a small quantity of distilled water and filter; treat with ammonia in slight excess, and a large quantity of chloroform. Distil off the chloroform, dissolve the residue in distilled water acidulated with hydrochloric acid, and filter. Treat afresh with chloroform and ammonia. The chloroformic solution is then shaken with water, to which hydrochloric acid is added, drop by drop, up to the quantity sufficient to saturate the pilocarpine. The foreign matters remain in the chloroform, and upon evaporation of the aqueous liquid the hydrochlorate is obtained, well crystallised, in long needles radiating from a common centre. The hydrochlorate dissolved in distilled water, and treated with ammonia and chloroform, yields the pilocarpine upon evaporation of the chloroform solution.
Pilocarpine appears under the form of a soft viscous substance; it is slightly soluble in water and very soluble in alcohol, ether and chloroform. It presents all the chemical characters of an alkaloid, and rotates the plane of polarized light strongly to the right. (Paris Pharmaceutical Society.)
PIMA′RIC ACID. A resin acid first obtained by Laurent from the turpentine of
Pinus maritima (Bordeaux turpentine), by the action of hot alcohol.
PIMEN′TO. Syn. Allspice, Clove pepper, Jamaica p., Pimento berries; Pimenta (B. P., Ph. L., E., & E.), Piper caryophyllatum, P. Jamaicense, P. odoratum, PIMENTÆ BACCÆ, L. “The dried unripe berries of the allspice tree, Eugenia pimenta, from the West Indies”—B. P. “The immature fruit of Eugenia pimenta (Myrtus pimenta, Linn.)”—Ph. L. It possesses a mixed odour of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmegs, which, with its other properties, it for the most yields to alcohol, ether, and water. It is a stimulant and tonic, and is much esteemed as an adjuvant in medicines prescribed in dyspepsia, flatulence, gout, hysteria &c.; and also to cover the taste of disagreeable medicines.—Dose, 5 to 30 gr., bruised or in powder. See Essence, Oils (Volatile), Spirits, and Waters.
PIM′PLES. See Eruptions (Papular).