Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Bougies

Introduction:
Its name came from the town namely “bougie” in Algeria, which was famous for trading in wax. Its original meaning is “A candle made by wax”. These are the types of suppositories intended for insertion into the urethra, nostrils or ears.
It is also a medical instrument in the shape of cylinder, made up of a flexible tube.

Forms of bougie:

Bulbous bougie:
It is a form of bougie with a bulb shaped tip.

Eder-pustow bougie:
It is a form of metal bougie which resembles olive in shape. It may be used in esophageal stricture.

Elastic bougie:
A bougie made of rubber or latex.

Elbowed bougie:
A bougie with a bent near its tip.

Use:
It is used for opening of constricted areas in tubular organs such as urethra or esophagus and rectum, so, that medicines for local application or another instruments can easily be inserted in that part.

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Pharmaceutics

It is a branch of Pharmacy and is the science of the preparation and dispensing of the drugs on the prescription of doctors. Although it also covers the study of drugs in general.

It is derived from the Greek word “pharmakeutikos” which means relating to drugs.

Further reading:
Modern Pharmaceutics by Gilbert S. Banker and Christopher Rhodes

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Monday, December 1, 2008

Maceration

Introduction:
Maceration is the process of softening and separating a substance by proper soaking it in particular liquid.

Procedure:
In this process, the drug previously powdered and weighed, is put alongwith the menstruum, which is that particular liquid such as ethyl acetate, ethanol or methanol, in a stoppered container.

This thing is then placed at a safe place for a definite period of time such as from two to seven days. Shaking must be done along the time.

Then the product is taken and filtered. Here, the residue obtained on the filter is known as the marc and it is pressed thoroughly, so that there will be no loss. The residue be clarified by subsidence or filtration.

References:

Encyclopedia Britannica 2009 Deluxe (Avanquest)

British Pharmacopoeia 2009 (British Pharmacopoeia) by British Pharmacopoeia Commission

Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy

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Gelatin

Introduction:
It is a form of animal protein which is semisolid and transparent in nature. As the name indicates it has gel forming properties.

Preparation of Gelatin:
It is derived from collagen of tissues and is extracted by boiling skin, bone or cartilage of some larger animals such as deer, cow or buffalo after alkali or acid treatment (hydrolysis), which forms a firm gel like structure when mixed in water.

Types of gelatin:

Type A gelatin:
Type of gelatin obtained from acid treated precursor.

Type B gelatin:
Type of gelatin obtained from alkali treated precursor.

Forms of gelatin:

Vegetable gelatin:
A gelatin like substance obtained from gluten (a protein combination found in certain cereals).

Glycerinated gelatin:
It is made by the treatment of equal proportions of glycerin and gelatin. It is mostly used for suppositories and urethral bougies.

Irish moss gelatin:
It is made by the extraction from Irish moss. It is mostly used as a substitute for gum Arabic in the preparation of emulsions.

Properties:
It is not a complete form of protein as it is deficient of certain amino acids. It is found in the form of sheets, flakes or powders. It is tasteless and odorless. It is faint yellow to amber in color.
It swells when placed in cold water but have the ability of dissolution only in hot water. It can be easily digested by the body.

Uses:
It is used mostly in the products of food and in cooking in home. It is also used to make gel foods such as jellied meats.
It is also in use in medicine. In pharmaceutical industry it is used to make capsules, cometics, hemostat and certain plasma substitutes. It is also used as an emulsifying agent.
It is also used in photography.

Storage:
It can be stored for longer periods in dry and airtight containers.

References:
Encyclopedia Britannica 2009 Deluxe (Avanquest)

British Pharmacopoeia 2009 (British Pharmacopoeia) by British Pharmacopoeia Commission

Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy

Copyright, (c), 2008, http://jeepakistan.blogspot.com