SPERMACETI

n. Spurm-as-set'i. Lat.. sprrma cet i, cetaceiim, album cet i. Fr.. spermaceti, blanc de baleine, cetine [Fr. Cod.],amfere blanc. Ger. A, Wallratk. A soft, unctuous, pearly white, solid substance of crystalline texture, obtained from the Pltyxeter macrocephalus. It is devoid of taste, has a slight odor, is inflammable, and di olves in ether, in chloroform, in carbon bisulphide, and in boiling alcohol. It consists of a mixture of the ethers of various fatty acids, the larger part being made up of eetyl palmitate. although the ethers of stearie, myristic. and lauric acids are also present, with small quantities of lethal, methal, and stethal. [B. 3,5.] Cf. CETACEUM. Ointment of s. See Unguentum CETACEI. Prepared s.. Saccharated s. See CETACEUM prceparatum. S. cerate. See Ceratum CETACEI. S. ointment. See L'nguentum CETACEI. S. plaster. See Ceratum CETACEI. [s. 512]