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BEZOAR.

BETULA ALBA, Linn.— BIRCH.

b

II

Synonimes ;— Bouleau blanc, Fit. ; Birke,Germ. ; Birk, Dan. ; Abedul, Span. ;Berk, Dut. ; Betalla, Ital. ; and Port ;Brzoza, Pol. ; Bjserk, Swed.

Austr. . Batav.; Bruns.; Dan.; Hisp.;Gall.; Ferr. ; Genev. ; Suec ; Ber-gius; Murray and Gmelin ; Piderit.

The bark and leaves are employed.

The bark (Cortex Betulœ) is reddish,and covered with a white epidermis easy tobe removed. It bas a slightly balsamicodour, and an aromatic and slightly astrin-gent taste.

The leaves are small, deltoid, and ser-rated ; they have an agreeable smell, and abitter taste.

They have been recommended, in infu-sion, for gout.

extract of birch. (Suec.)

R.

one part,two parts.

Leaves of Birch,Water,

Boil slowly for a short time, and express ;boil again the residue with fresh water, andevaporate the united decoctions in a water-bath to the consistence of an extract.

SYRUP OF BIRCH. (AUSTR. J VAN MoNS)

R. Spring Sap of Birch, recently drawn,any quantity.Evaporate it to the consistence of syrup,in a tinned copper vessel, carefully removingthe scum. Set it aside to depurate ; thenfilter, and preserve it for use.

Van Mons directs it to be clarified withwhite of egg.

BEZOAR.

Bezoar is a morbid production of the in-testines of animals : a great many kinds ofit were formerly employed in medicine.The following are still admitted in somepharmacopoeias :

1. Bezoar. — Bezoar.

Synonimes :— Bezoard, Fr. ; Bezoarstein,Germ. ; Faduj, Arab. ; Visagul, Cyng. ;Zeher Morah, Duk. ; and Hind. ; PiedraBezoar, Span.; Bezoarsteen, Dit.; Go-leha, Mal. ; Padzeher Kanie, Pers. ;Gorochana, Sans. ; Vischik Kullu, Ko-roschanum 1 Tam.

Amst. ; Batav. ; Bruns.; Hisp.; Wir-

tem. ; Ainslie ; Guibourt ; Spiel-mann.

Bezoar, distinctively so called, is large,solid, and formed in concentric layers.There are three kinds of it -.

Coromandel Bezoar. This is said to bederived from the sea horse {Trichecus ma-natus, Linn.1.

B.

Occidental Bezoar. Found in the intes-tines of the Peruvian lama and of the vicuna.

Oriental Bezoar. Found in the intestinesof the antelope (Capra ¿Egagrus, Linn.1.

These formerly had the reputation ofbeing preservatives against contagious dis-eases, but this chimerical virtue is now onlyattributed to them by the Orientals.

2. JEgagrophilus. — German Bezoar.

Synonimes : — Pilœ Damnrum seu Rupi-caprarum. — Egagropile, Bezoar D'Alle-magne, Fr. ; Gemsenkugel, Germ.

WiRTEM. ; Spielmann.

This concretion is principally formed ofhair intermixed and felted together. It isfound in the intestines of several of the do-mestic mammiferae.

3. Lapis Porcinus. — Bezoar of the Porcu-

pine.

Synonimes :— Pierre de Porc, Fr. ; PiedraPorcina, Span.

Hisp.

This is a calculous concretion found in thegall-bladder of the Histrix cristatua,Linn.