Inorganic bismuth salts were the first compounds
to be recognized for therapeutic utility; for example,
bismuth subnitrate (BSN) was known as “magisterium
bismuti”430 as early as the 17th century. A
listing of compounds with medicinal relevance including
assigned formulas and references to characterization
data are given in Table 7. Some named
compounds (e.g., subcarbonate and subnitrate) have
a variety of formulas, which arise from the variable
preparative procedures. Their designation as “sub”
salts has likely been justified on the basis of high
oxygen content and the assignment of Bi-O moieties.
Some formula assignments are based on elemental
analysis data and maybe overinterpreted. For example,
bismuth hydroxides are sometimes written as
BiO(OH) but could be bismuth oxide (Bi2O3) with
variable water content.