Page:An introduction to pharmacognosy (1905).djvu/15

Rh compound of so much that, like many another group of sciences, it is a science for convenience' sake only.*

CLASSIFICATION OF ORGANIC DRUGS.

I. Animal Drugs.

II. Vegetable Drugs without Organic Structure. Sugars, gums, gum resins, resins, oleoresins, balsams, volatile oils, milky juices, extracts and enzymes.

III. Vegetable Drugs with Organic Structure.

(a) Starches, (b) Simple Powders, (c) Galls, (d) Plant Organs or parts of Organs. Roots, Rhizomes, Tubers, Bulbs, Corms, Wood and Stems, Barks, Leaves, Flowers and Floral Appendages, Fruits and Seeds.

The above very brief classification is offered as the one to be followed in the accompanying pages.

In the discussion of plant organs, or parts of organs, certain advantages might be derived from a study of the simple organs first, such as seeds and fruits, taking up later the organs with more complex anatomical structure, yet custom has more or less stamped its approval upon the reverse order of study, and it is here followed for the sake of convenience.

♦See Flückiger, "Pharmakographia," for full discussion of the history of drugs and their method of preparation.