. The Pharmaceutical era. eing grasped bythe hands, the circular knives are moved back and forth over the drugs like a rolling pin, quickly reducing themto fragments. Another convenient form of cutter is seen•in the familiar rocker knives used by butchers to cutsausage meat, and used in the same manner by rockingthe knives forth and back over the drug. Cutting, whether by means of knives, hatchet or otherinstrument, is best conducted upon a heavy table or plankof soft wood, by which means the cutting edges of theinstrument used are preserved from injury. The heavychopping blocks of the butcher
. The Pharmaceutical era. eing grasped bythe hands, the circular knives are moved back and forth over the drugs like a rolling pin, quickly reducing themto fragments. Another convenient form of cutter is seen•in the familiar rocker knives used by butchers to cutsausage meat, and used in the same manner by rockingthe knives forth and back over the drug. Cutting, whether by means of knives, hatchet or otherinstrument, is best conducted upon a heavy table or plankof soft wood, by which means the cutting edges of theinstrument used are preserved from injury. The heavychopping blocks of the butcher make excellent surfacesfor this purpose. Contusion.—Contusion is the process whereby a drug Isreduced to fragments, or to a coarse powder, by repeatedsharp blows. Crushing and bruising are similar processesand are frequently used as synonymous with contusion. The drug to be crushed or contused is placed in ahollow container called a Mortar and the blows are de-livered by a heavy instrument called a Pestle. (Fig. 36.). Fig. 36.—Iron ilortars and Pestles, for Contusion. The material of the mortar and pestle may be of other metal, of stoneware, or wood, but for obviousreasons mortars intended principally for contusion arebest made of wood or metal. Green drugs, however, arebetter contused in mortars of hard wood, stoneware orother non-metallic substance, since the acid or other In-gredients of the juice may react with the metal and re-ceive injury. Metallic mortars may be of brass, bell-metal, bronze,or cast iron, but the latter possesses all the necessaryqualities of a metallic mortar, besides being the mortar should be heavy so as to afford a solid basisfor the blow and to lessen the risk of fracture. The sizeand weight of the pestle should be adapted to the size andweight of the mortar, and the curvature of its strikingend should be carefully adjusted to the curvature of themortars inner surface. Such an adaptation will not onlysave frequent cracked
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, booksubjectdrugs, booksubjectpharmacy, bookyear1
