[General methods and specifications].
The reasons are explained why general methods are described in pharmacopeias. With the help of examples taken from European Pharmacopeias, the United States Pharmacopeia, and the International Pharmacopeia, the author reports the general chemical and physical methods that were used in compiling these pharmacopeias. The description of these general methods, and particularly of the instruments, goes often beyond the actual bounds of a pharmacopeia and may fulfill a didactic function. The methods used in the various pharmacopeias, especially the chemical ones, are here compared and subjected to the author's critical analysis. The author explains also that technical progress in the analytical field should not be hampered by the rigidity of the pharmacopeia's rules; this can be easily avoided by resorting to alternate methods.