Lithium.

Lithii Carbonas

Lithium carbonate. A white powder, soluble in water (1 in 80, but more soluble in water saturated with carbon dioxide). Dose, gr. ij—gr. x.

Lithii Citras

Lithium citrate. A white powder, deliquescent and soluble in twenty-five parts of water.

Lithii Citras Effervescens

Effervescent lithium citrate. Composed of lithium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, citric acid, and sugar. Dose, gr. v— oz ss.

Lithii Salicylas

Lithium salicylate. A white powder, deliquescent on exposure to air, having a sweetish taste and a faintly acid reaction. It is freely soluble in water and in alcohol. Dose, gr. v—Эj.

Lithii Benzoas

Lithium benzoate. A white powder, or small shining scales, permanent in the air, having a cooling, sweetish taste and a faintly acid reaction. Soluble in four parts of water and twelve parts of alcohol at 60° Fahr. Dose, gr. ij—gr. xv.

Antagonists and Incompatibles, and Synergists, are the same as for the other alkalies.

Physiological Actions of the Lithium Salts

These remedies have strong alkaline and basic properties, and act on the organism of man in the same manner as the other members of the group. The compound of uric acid and lithium is readily soluble, differing in this respect from the urate of soda. It is said that the lithium salts alka-linize the urine more decidedly than even the potash salts.

Therapy of the Lithium Salts

Garrod first introduced these remedies into medical practice for the treatment of rheumatism, and in his recent Lumleian lectures has demonstrated anew their exceptional value. Recently the compound of lithium and salicylic acid has been brought forward as a more effective remedy in the rheumatic diseases. The subacute and chronic cases, and the so-called rheumatic gout, are the forms of the disease in which the lithium salts are most serviceable. In the so-called uric-acid diathesis, in renal calculi composed of uric acid, and in irritable bladder from an excess of acid in the urine, the salts of lithium are useful. In the case of a renal calculus a very protracted use of a well-diluted solution is necessary. The carbonate of lithium, in carbonic-acid water and arseniate of soda dissolved in the same solution, has been highly extolled of late as a cure for diabetes. Dr. Martineau, the author of the plan, directs three grains of the lithium salt and 1/10 grain of arseniate of soda to be dissolved by pressure in two pints of carbonic-acid water—quantity sufficient for three doses.