HOMEOPATHIC PHARMACEUTICAL INSTRUMENTS AND APPLIANCES

MORTAR AND PESTLE

Mortars –

  •  diverse shapes generally, the shape is hemispherical.
  • They are made up of iron, porcelain, agate, glass, wedgewood.
  • Porcelain mortar and pestle – Inside of mortar and face of pestle should be unglazed, for trituration purposes, trituration of strong smelling drugs.
  • Glass mortar and pestle – mercurial preparation.


SPATULA –

  •  It may be – stainless steel, solid hard rubber spatula, horn spatula, porcelain spatula, ivory spatula.


SIEVES – 

  • These are vessels with meshed or perforated bottom for separating fine powders from coarser substances. It may be silk, hair or stainless steel wire.
  • But A.H.P. advise the use of hair or silk sieves.


SCALE –

  •  known as metre scale.
  • 1mm = 0.1cm


FUNNEL – 

  • Made of either glass, high polythene or porcelain.
  • Chief utility is trituration, sublimation and transfer of liquid.


BOTTLES (GLASS-STOPPERED)

  • All homoeopathic mother tincture and solution (excepting few) should be stored in glass stoppered botteles.
  • Fluric acid – Gutta purcha bottle.

 

INSTRUMENTS FOR MEASURING VOLUME

MEASURING CYLINDER –

  •  Long cylinder of glass by which various volume can be measured but without great accuracy.
  • 50ml capacity used to measure 45ml
  • 100ml capacity used to measure 95ml
  • 150ml capacity used to measure 140ml
  • 200ml capacity used to measure 180ml
  • 250ml capacity used to measure 230ml

 

VOLUMETRIC FLASK – 

  • Is a flat bottomed glass flask with a long narrow neck.
  • It generally used for preparation of reagents and also for storing standard solution.


BURETTE –

  •  Is a long glass tube


PIPETTE – 

  • It may be graduated or volumetric type
  • Volumetric pipette – measure precise volume with high degree accuracy. Two type
  1. Single graduation mark
  2. Double graduation mark
  • Graduated pipette – two type

  1. A pipette with graduations extending to the tip
  2. A pipette with graduations not extending to the tip


GLASS RETORT – 

  • It is flask like round bottomed apparatus and its one side is bent and looks like a tube.
  • Hahnemann mentions its use I the preparation of causticum.


SPIRIT LAMP – 

  • Made of either aluminium or glass
  • Uses for heating.


SPECIFIC GRAVITY BOTTLE (Pyknometer)


HYDROMETER – 

  • Measurement of the ‘relative density’ or ‘specific gravity’.


LACTOMETER – 

  • For testing milk.


WATER BATH – 

  • Uses – 1) to calculate the moisture content of drug substances. 2)for indirect heating at low temperature 3) for sublimation.


DESICATOR –

  •  Uses for desiccation i.e. removing moisture completely from substances for keeping hygroscopic materials i.e. those which absorb moisture from atmosphere.


HOT AIR OVEN – 

  • Uses 1) for evaporating the moisture of vegetable drugs or other raw materials.
  • 2) in determination of solid contents of mother tinctures.


WASH BOTTLE –

  •  It used for washing purposes and for transferring precipitates adhering to the vessel to a filter.


See Also

SOURCES OF HOMEOPATHIC DRUGS

MATERIAMEDICA

REPERTORY

 

 In this post of the 21stcenturyofhomeopathy.in blog, I have told about the homeopathy appliances which is very helpful for you at the time of exams.