Compound spirit of ether, also called Hoffmann's anodyne, Hoffmann's drops, or aetheris spiritus compositus, is a solution of one part diethyl ether in three parts alcohol.Werner Gerabek: Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte. Berlin 2005, p. 610. It was used traditionally as an anodyne or as a hypnotic. Its use as a drug was introduced by Friedrich Hoffmann.T. Kleij: Zur Entwicklungs- und Herstellungsgeschichte der "Hoffmannstropfen" und ihrer Darstellung und Interpretation in den medizinischen Werken des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts. Dresden, 2003.
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