This new agent has been long known to chemists, but its utilization as a remedy is very recent. Methylal is highly volatile, is soluble in water and alcohol, and can be made into a homogeneous unguent with oils and fats. It is a very diffusible substance, acts very quickly, and is eliminated rapidly. When it enters the stomach a sensation of warmth is produced which diffuses throughout the system, the vascular tension falls, the heart beats rapidly, respiration is increased, and the temperature is said to be lowered; but we are inclined to think that an error of observation has been committed here. Sleep is soon induced, but the extent and duration of this stage of the action are much influenced by the quantity given and by the rate of elimination, which is rapid or slow, according to the state of the eliminating organs.

Methylal lessens the reflexes, and is antagonistic to strychnine and the tetanizers in general

The dose of methylal ranges from five to fifteen grains. As it is soluble in water it may be given subcutaneously as by the stomach. The maladies in which it has been used with encouraging results are wakefulness, convulsive diseases, as epilepsy, in neuroses of the respiratory organs, and in cases of neuralgia of superficial nerves. It is applied externally, mixed with almond-oil or alcohol, in the proportion of ten to twenty per cent of the medicament. The rate of dosage must be comparatively rapid, as the diffusion and elimination of the remedy go on so quickly. In making external applications, the state of the skin and its idiosyncrasies must be heeded. Violent inflammation may be caused by too free and too frequent application of the remedy.