#pharmacy

• Since antiquity — The classical and correct Latin form for 'from ancient times' or 'since antiquity'. In toxicology, pharmacognosy, and medical ethics, it is used to emphasize that certain therapeutic effects, prohibitions (e.g., using poisons for political or medical purposes), or professional oaths have been in force and respected since the earliest times of human civilization.
• Ebony — A precious, highly exotic, dense, and hard wood, usually black, obtained from several tropical trees of the genus Diospyros (family Ebenaceae). In pharmacognosy and the history of pharmacy, extracts, shavings, and powder from ebony wood or its bark were historically used in preparing astringent and purifying remedies, while the wood itself was used to manufacture pharmaceutical mortars resistant to chemical corrosion.
• Abietin — A term used in early pharmaceutical chemistry to describe a bitter principle, resinous substance, or glycoside extracted from the bark and needles of certain conifer species (genus Abies). In past centuries, researchers analyzed abietin for its febrifuge (fever-reducing) and stimulant potential, but overdosing concentrated remedies containing this compound could cause acute gastric irritation or toxic nephritis.
• Abstergent — A substance, solution, or pharmaceutical preparation capable of cleansing biological tissues, wounds, or ulcerations by dissolving and removing dead cells, secretions, and impurities; (as an adjective) possessing purifying, detersive, and healing properties on the skin or mucous membranes.
• Abt Frantz — The traditional popular and pharmaceutical name (originating from the Germanic area as 'Abbe Franz') for a tonic gastric tincture or elixir, historically used as a stomachic remedy to stimulate digestion, combat flatulence, and soothe abdominal spasms. Its formula was based on hydroalcoholic extracts of bitter and aromatic herbs, being a common preparation in Transylvanian and Central European pharmacies until the mid-20th century.
• Acaricide — A chemical substance, biological preparation, or drug specifically designed to kill mites and ticks and to arrest the multiplication or development of their eggs and larvae. In phytopharmacy, it is deployed as a protective pesticide for crops against spider mites, whereas in human and veterinary medicine, it serves as a topical antiparasitic lotion to eradicate ectoparasites causing scabies or tick infestations.
• Volatile alkali — An archaic and historical designation used in chemistry and old pharmacy for ammonia (gas or an aqueous solution of ammonium hydroxide). The term highlights the substance's alkaline (basic) character and its pronounced capacity to evaporate rapidly at room temperature, releasing a strong, pungent, and suffocating odor.
• The ointment — The definite articulated form of the noun 'alifie'; a pharmaceutical or cosmetic preparation of semi-solid, unctuous consistency, made from a fatty base (such as vaseline, lanolin, or wax) in which active substances are incorporated. It is intended for topical application on the skin or mucous membranes for therapeutic, protective, or deep moisturizing purposes.
• Aloes — A traditional pharmaceutical preparation obtained by evaporating and concentrating the juice extracted from the fleshy leaves of various aloe species (notably Aloe ferox or Aloe perfoliata). This dried, resinous, brownish-black extract was utilized in ancient medicine as a powerful purgative, stomachic tonic, or healing agent, holding a major structural weight in medieval elixir recipes.
• Aloetic — Containing aloe, relating to aloe; a pharmaceutical preparation such as a remedy, tincture, or pill based on the bitter juice or extract of aloe, historically used in therapeutics for its potent purgative, stomachic, or tonic effects.
• Amygdalous compound — A rare, archaic medical and pharmaceutical term structurally utilized to denote a medicinal preparation, oil, ointment, or emulsion derived from almond kernels (especially bitter almonds), or a dense cosmetic substance historically used for skin softening. In a rare adjectival sense, it describes an element with a fatty texture or specific scent directly derived from processing amygdalin compounds.
• Aminophenazone — An organic compound of the pyrazolone class, historically widely used as a drug with potent analgesic, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory properties (also known as pyramidon). Due to its major structural risk of causing severe agranulocytosis and its carcinogenic potential through the formation of nitrosamines, its clinical use has been banned or severely restricted in modern medicine.
• Aminophylline — A stable complex composed of theophylline and ethylenediamine in a one-to-one molar ratio, widely used as a bronchodilator medication in the treatment of obstructive airway diseases, such as bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Due to its xanthine component, it inhibits phosphodiesterase, increasing intracellular cyclic AMP levels, which leads to the relaxation of bronchial smooth muscle and direct relief of dyspnea attacks.
• Ampoule — A small, hermetically sealed, sterile glass or plastic vessel with a rounded body and a narrow neck, used in pharmacy for preserving liquid medications intended for injection; in physics and engineering, an airtight glass container holding a rarefied gas or a metallic filament (a thermometer bulb or light bulb). In anatomy, the term describes a sac-like structural dilation of a biological duct or organ.
• Anhydrous — Containing no water; a chemical substance, solvent, or compound from whose structure free water or water of crystallization has been completely removed through thermal or chemical processes. In technical and pharmaceutical fields, the anhydrous state guarantees high purity of reagents and prevents secondary hydrolysis reactions during storage or high-precision production processes.
• Antiphlogistic — Reducing, combating, or preventing inflammation and its associated manifestations, such as edema, redness, or local pain; anti-inflammatory. In classical pharmacology, the term describes a substance or medicinal treatment designed to block pro-inflammatory biochemical cascades.
• Anthracenic — Belonging to anthracene, referring to anthracene, or structurally deriving from the core of this aromatic hydrocarbon; an organic compound, dye, or plant active principle (such as anthracene glycosides found in plants like senna or buckthorn) characterized by the presence of three linearly fused benzene rings. In a pharmacodynamic sense, it describes a class of substances with intense purgative or laxative properties, used in the formulation of standardized phytotherapeutic remedies.
• Apioline — An archaic pharmaceutical or old commercial name (used primarily in the late 19th and early 20th centuries) for a purified active principle or medicinal preparation derived from apiole; administered in the form of oily capsules as a uterine stimulant, emmenagogue, or sedative for menstrual pain.
• Pyrogen-free — Apyrogenous or pyrogen-free; not producing fever, describing a substance, infusible solution, or sterile medical preparation that is completely free of pyrogens (bacterial or chemical agents capable of inducing a febrile reaction in human or animal bodies upon injection). It is a mandatory trait for all fluids administered intravenously.
• Apozem — A liquid pharmaceutical form, represented by a sweetened and highly concentrated infusion or decoction of medicinal plants, administered for therapeutic purposes. Unlike classic herbal teas, an apozem has a higher density of active ingredients due to prolonged boiling or maceration, traditionally used as a magistral remedy in phytotherapy.