The General Notices and Requirements(hereinafter referred to as the General Notices)and general requirements appearing in General Chaptersprovide in summary form the basic guidelines for the interpretation and application of the standards,tests,assays,and other specifications of the United States Pharmacopeiaand eliminate the need to repeat throughout the book those requirements that are pertinent in numerous instances.Where no specific language is given to the contrary,the requirements under the General Noticesand General Chaptersapply.

Where exceptions to the General Noticesor General Chaptersare made,the wording in the individual monograph takes precedence and specifically indicates the directions or the intent.To emphasize that such exceptions do exist,the General Noticesor General Chaptersin some places employ where indicated a qualifying expression such as “unless otherwise specified.”In the individual monographs,it is understood that the specific wording of standards,tests,assays,and other specifications is binding wherever deviations from the General Noticesor General Chaptersexist whether or not a statement of exception is made.