Category: Ancient Medicine
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Castoreum
Castoreum is a yellowish exudate from the castor sacs of mature beavers. Beavers use castoreum in combination with urine to scent mark their territory. Both beaver sexes have a pair of castor sacs and a pair of anal glands, located in two cavities under the skin between the pelvis and the base of the tail. The castor sacs are not true glands (endocrine or exocrine)…
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Mithridatism
Mithridatism is the practice of protecting oneself against a poison by gradually self-administering non-lethal amounts. The word is derived from Mithridates VI, the King of Pontus, who so feared being poisoned that he regularly ingested small doses, aiming to develop immunity. Not to be confused with Mithraism. Background Mithridates VI‘s father, Mithridates V, was assassinated by poisoning by a conspiracy among his attendants. After…
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Mithridate
Mithridate, also known as mithridatium, mithridatum, or mithridaticum, is a semi-mythical remedy with as many as 65 ingredients, used as an antidote for poisoning, and said to have been created by Mithridates VI Eupator of Pontus in the 1st century BC. It was one of the most complex and highly sought-after drugs during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, particularly in Italy and France, where…
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Theriac or theriaca (medical concoction)
Theriac or theriaca is a medical concoction originally labelled by the Greeks in the 1st century AD and widely adopted in the ancient world as far away as Persia, China and India via the trading links of the Silk Route.[1] It was an alexipharmic, or antidote, considered a panacea,[2] for which it could serve as a synonym: in the 16th century Adam Lonicer wrote that garlic was the rustic’s theriac or Heal-All.[3] The word theriac comes from…