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Detect and identify the adulterations and contaminations which may occur in the elements and inorganic compounds included in the British Pharmacopoeia and in such of the organic compounds men- tioned in the list of substances for identification as are included in the British Pharmacopoeia.
Perform those volumetric determinations and those requiring the use of a nitrometer which are described in the British Pharmacopoeia.
Have a practical acquaintance with the methods of preparing the more important inorganic substances, and also the following organic compounds: -Ether, chloroform, ethyl nitrite, hydrocyanic acid, acetanilide, and nitro-benzene, so that he may be able to explain to the examiner the operations involved in their preparation, and, if called upon, to perform the operations or certain stages of them himself.
Determine quantitatively the total alkaloids in cinchona bark and its official preparations, in the liquid extract of belladonna and its preparations, and in the liquid extract of ipecacuanha; also the strychnine in the extract, liquid extract and tincture of nux vomica; the morphine in opium and its extract, liquid extract and tincture, any of the above alkaloids in any other preparations by methods involving principles similar to the above, and the resin in tincture of jalap.
The candidate will have the opportunity of consulting the B.P. and the B.P.C.
The candidate will be required to bring to the practical examina- tion his original laboratory notebooks for inspection; these must be taken away by the candidate at the close of the examination.
Pharmacy.
AN ORAL, WRITTEN, AND PRACTICAL EXAMINATION.
A knowledge of the following:-
Operations requiring the use of heat. Evaporation, with parti- cular reference to the preparation of extracts; special characters and modes of preparing the various classes of extracts; water and sand baths; distillation, ordinary, fractional, steam, and destructive, distinc- tive characters and objects of each; official preparations illustrating the various kinds of distillation apparatus employed; the principles of sterilisation; sublimation, its objects and applications in pharmacy; official products of sublimation, calcination, and fusion; trituration, levigation, elutriation, granulation.
FILTRATION, objects and methods, filtering media, means of expediting filtration; dialysis, its application in pharmacy, construction and use of the dialyser.
SOLUTION, its nature, solvent power of various menstrua, irfluences of temperature, state of division of the substance to be dissolved, time, position of the substance in the menstruum; lixivia- tion, infusion, digestion and decoction, maceration, percolation, and displacement; principles on which the successful performance of these processes depends.
THE PRINCIPLES involved in the dispensing of medicines, particularly with reference to the best excipients and methods for forming pill masses; the preparation and nature of emulsions, the most suitable emulsifying agents, and the best means of suspending insoluble substances in liquids.
The processes by which official galenical preparations are made and the principles upon which they are based.
The candidate will be required to read without abbreviation autograph Latin prescriptions, translate them into English, and render a literal as well as an appropriate translation of the directions for use; to detect errors, discover unusual doses, and have a practical knowl. edge of posology; to calculate percentages and other quantities occur- ring in prescriptions.
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