The Chemistry of Synthetic Drugs.

Since the first edition of this book appeared in 1911, great advances have been made in our knowledge of the pharmacology of synthetic chemicals, especially in the relationships which certain groups of atoms (organic radicals) bear to physiologic effects. This has led to new therapeutic applications for chemical substances already well known, and to a search for new substances whose therapeutic properties, like their physical characteristics, might be predicted to a considerable extent from the theoretical composition. Before the opening of the world war, most synthetic medicinals were made in Germany, and soon after the war began, a serious shortage in supplies of synthetic drugs developed. This shortage soon stimulated an interest in their manufacture and perfection both in Great Britain and in the United States. The results are reflected in the new edition of this book, which describes many drugs not mentioned in the earlier one. Among these are