Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/873

IRON. water; the solution readily takes up oxygen, which causes the formation of ferric sulphate, and hence must be kept in sealed vessels out of contact with air, if it is to be preserved unchanged. Ferrous sulphate is used for a variety of purposes in the arts; it is employed in making fuming sulphuric acid, in dyeing, as a disinfectant, in making colcothar and rouge, etc. Ferrous sulphide, FeS, which has been found in many meteoric stones, may be made by heating iron filings with flowers of sulphur. It is largely used in chemical laboratories for the preparation of sulphureted hydrogen, which it yields on coming into contact with dilute sulphuric or hydrochloric acid. Ferrous chloride, or rather its hydrated form, FeCL2.4H2O, may be prepared by the action of hydrochloric acid on metallic iron. The crystalline anhydrous chloride, FeCl2, may be prepared by the action of gaseous hydrochloric acid on red-hot iron. Ferrous oxalate, which is a powerful reducing agent, is used as a developer in photography, potassium-ferrous oxalate being used for the same purpose. Another important compound containing iron in the ferrous state is the well-known potassium ferrocyanide, or yellow prussiate of potash, which may be found described under .

Among the ferric salts deserve mention the chloride, the sulphide, the nitrate, and the phosphate. Ferric chloride, Fe2Cl6, is a volatile and extremely hygroscopic salt prepared by the action of chlorine upon red-hot metallic iron. Its solutions in water have a brown color which may possibly be due not to the ferric chloride itself, but to the formation of basic chlorides of iron, which are eventually precipitated out of solutions of ferric salts. Commercial ferric chloride contains a considerable percentage of water, and hence contains basic chlorides, probably some free ferric hydroxide, etc. It is prepared by dissolving ordinary ferric hydroxide in hydrochloric acid. Ferric sulphide, FeS2, occurs in nature abundantly as iron pyrite; it is used for the preparation of sulphurous anhydride in manufacturing sulphuric acid and in bleaching. Ferric nitrate, Fe2(NO3)6, is obtained by dissolving metallic iron in an excess of cold nitric acid and allowing the solution to evaporate in a vacuum; the crystals thus obtained correspond to the formula Fe2(NO3)6.9H2O, and melt at 35° C. In aqueous solution, the nitrate gradually decomposes unless an excess of free nitric acid is present. Ferric phosphate, FePO4, is an insoluble white substance formed when acid sodium phosphate is added to solutions of ferric acetate. Another compound containing iron in the ferric state, viz. potassium ferricyanide, may be found described under .

. Iron itself and a number of its compounds are used in medicine in the form of various preparations; in the stomach all such compounds are converted into ferric chloride, and to a small extent into ferrous chloride. One of the best medicinal compounds of iron is ferric chloride, the evil effects of whose strongly acid properties may be avoided by the addition of bicarbonate of sodium. Another way to avoid the undesirable effects of acid compounds of iron is to administer them in the form of coated pills which may pass through the stomach unchanged, the

acidity being then neutralized in the alkaline juices of the intestine. The constipating effect of iron compounds is well known, but is generally somewhat exaggerated; this effect may be readily avoided by the use of suitable purgatives. To avoid indigestion, iron compounds should not be taken shortly before or after meals. In the mouth, iron salts may (if acid) attack the enamel of the teeth, and by combining with sulphur (from food or the tartar of the teeth) form a black deposit of ferrous sulphide on the teeth and the tongue. For these reasons iron preparations are usually administered through a glass tube, and the mouth is to be carefully rinsed immediately after taking the dose.

Besides constituting the best-known local astringents for external application, iron salts are extensively used as a remedy for many forms of anæmia and the conditions caused by them, the best results being obtained by the use of ferrous sulphate and ferric chloride (the latter together with some glycerin). Iron salts have also been given with success in diphtheria, tonsilitis, and other forms of sore throat, as well as in erysipelas. In anæmia they have the effect of restoring the number of corpuscles and the normal amount of hæmoglobin in the blood. The fact that this takes place appears very remarkable in the light of a great deal of evidence which tends to show that no iron is actually absorbed into the system. We have seen above that in the stomach all iron salts are transformed into ferric chloride. On reaching the intestine the chloride is transformed into ferric hydroxide, and subsequently the latter is in turn transformed into the black sulphide and tannate of iron, which are voided with the fæces. All of the iron taken is thus voided, and none passes into the urine. On the other hand, when injected into the blood, even in very moderate quantities, iron salts produce symptoms of poisoning. The question therefore arises: In what manner do iron salts act in relieving amæmia? Definitely this question has not yet been answered. According to a theory advanced by Bunge, the iron normally present in the blood enters it in the form of complex organic iron compounds that are contained in food. That iron in some form or other necessarily enters the blood is evident, if we remember that the amount of iron in the body of a child increases with age. Now, according to Bunge, the alkaline sulphides that may be present in the intestines are capable of depriving the iron compounds of food of their iron, the resulting sulphide being of course incapable of absorption. But if sufficient quantities of iron are taken internally, the alkaline sulphides are decomposed and the organic iron of the food becomes available. The amounts of iron required depend of course upon the amount of alkaline sulphides in the intestines, and this is why it may be found necessary to administer as much as 18 grains a day to an anæmic woman whose body, in a normal state, contains altogether about 30 grains. A strong argument in favor of Bunge's theory of the indirect action of iron is found in the fact that manganese, copper, and certain other substances not at all present in the blood are almost as efficient as iron in curing anæmia.

Ferric chloride, the most important medicinal salt of iron, is usually administered in the form of its tincture, which contains about 3.25 per