BAL

Abstract

THE discovery of BAL (2,3–dimercaptopropanol) by Peters and his co-workers¹ in England was the result of an intensive search for a substance that would be effective in treating severe burns caused by contact with certain arsenical war gases such as lewisite. The name BAL is an abbreviation of "British Anti-Lewisite," a term applied to this substance after it had proved to be effective against lewisite. It was soon found that this compound was of value not only in treating the local effects of arsenical war gases but also in combating the systemic disturbances following their absorption. Moreover, BAL proved to . . .