Pilulae Catharticae Compositae, Pilulae Catharticae Vegetabiles.
Pilulae Catharticae Compositae (Eclectic).—Compound Cathartic Pills.
Preparation.—Take of extract of leptandra, gamboge, scammony, each, in powder, 1 drachm; resin of podophyllum, castile soap, each, ½ drachm. Triturate the powders thoroughly together, then add the soap; mix and beat the whole together till they are thoroughly incorporated. Divide the mass into 100 pills (J. King).
Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—This is a valuable pill in all cases where a cathartic is required, as in constipation, torpor of the biliary apparatus, hepatic disease, intermittent and remittent fevers, jaundice, etc. One pill will generally be found sufficient for a dose, rarely 2 pills will be required.
Pilulae Catharticae Vegetabiles (U. S. P.)—Vegetable Cathartic Pills.
Preparation.—"Compound extract of colocynth, sixty grammes (60 Gm.) [2 ozs. av., 51 grs.]; extract of hyoscyamus, thirty grammes (30 Gm.) [1 oz. av., 25 grs.]; extract of jalap, thirty grammes (30 Gm.) [1 oz. av., 25 grs.]; extract of leptandra, fifteen grammes (15 Gm.) [231 grs.]; resin of podophyllum, fifteen grammes (15 Gm.) [231 grs.]; oil of peppermint, eight cubic centimeters (8 Cc.) [130♏︎]; water, a sufficient quantity to make 1000 pills. Mix the compound extract of colocynth intimately with the resin of podophyllum and incorporate the oil of peppermint. Rub the extracts of hyoscyamus, jalap, and leptandra with enough water to render them plastic, then beat them together with the mixture first prepared, using a sufficient quantity of water to form a mass, to be divided into 1000 pills"—(U.S. P.).
Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—As the name indicates, this is a vegetable cathartic. Dose, as a laxative, 1 pill; as a cathartic, 2 to 3 pills.
Related Pills.—PILULAE CATHARTICAE COMPOSITAE (U. S. P.), Compound cathartic pills, Antibilious pills. "Compound extract of colocynth, eighty grammes (80 Gm.) [2 ozs. av., 360 grs.]; mild mercurous chloride, sixty grammes (60 Gm.) [2 ozs. av., 51 grs.]; extract of jalap, thirty grammes (30 Gm.) [1 oz. av., 25 grs.]; gamboge, in fine powder, fifteen grammes (15 Gm.) [231 grs.]; water, a sufficient quantity to make 1000 pills. Mix the powders intimately, then gradually incorporate them with the extract of jalap and a sufficient quantity of water to form a mass, to be divided into 1000 pills"—(U. S. P.). Often repeated, this pill will salivate. Dose, as a laxative, 1 pill (about 3 grains); as a brisk cathartic, 3 pills. Extensively used by members of the old school of practice as a laxative and cathartic. It is not employed in Eclectic medicine.
PILULAE ANTIMONII COMPOSITAE (U. S. P.), Compound pills of antimony, Plummer's pills, Compound pills of subchloride of mercury, Compound calomel pills.—"Sulphurated antimony, four grammes (4 Gm.) [62 grs.]; mild mercurous chloride, four grammes (4 Gm.) [62 grs.]; guaiac, in fine powder, eight grammes (8 Gm.) [123 grs.]; castor oil, a sufficient quantity to make 100 pills. Beat the powders together with castor oil, added a few drops at a time, so as to form a mass, and divide it into 100 pills"—(U. S. P.). This pill is not employed by the Eclectic profession. It is used in old school practice for rheumatic and cutaneous disorders of syphilitic origin. Dose, 1 to 4 pills a day.
