Hepars were chemicals of a liver colour, as hepar antimonii, hepar sulphuris.
Infusions first appeared in the London Pharmacopœia of 1720. In the revised edition of that issue (1724), however, the three infusions of 1720 appear as Decocti, the title of Infusum being abandoned, but the directions for the three preparations referred to still give “infunde” and not “coque.” In the edition of 1746 Infusa re-appear as such, and “Macera” appears in the directions for the first time. In the 1788 edition Inf. Amarum Simplex becomes Infusum Gentianæ Compositum, and aqua bulliens gives place to aqua fervens. In 1809 the number of Infusions is raised from four to eighteen.
Julep, a term made popular in medicine by the Arabs. It was used by them exclusively for clear, sweet, liquids. Nothing oily or with a sediment could be a julep. The name is said to be a Persian compound from gul, rose, and ap, water; applied to rose tinted waters. It has lingered in modern pharmacy as camphor or mint julep, but in neither of these cases is it correctly applied, as they are not sweetened. The old way of making camphor julep was to hold a piece of camphor by pincers, inflame it, and plunge it in water, repeating this operation frequently until the water acquired a strong flavour of camphor.
Katapotia. The most usual form of medicine among the Greek pharmacists was the confection or electuary, a composition of drugs made to a proper consistence generally with honey. Frequently these electuaries were called “antidotes,” things given against this or that disease. There were antidotes against gout, against stone, against colics, against phthisis, etc. The taste of these antidotes was always unpleasant, so it became the custom to order them to be made up into little balls of such or such size. The Greeks called these little balls “katapotia,” that is, things to be swallowed. “Take a katapotium the size of a bean” would be an ordinary Greek direction. Galen describes a composition of 1 part of colocynth, 2 parts of aloes, 2 of scammony, 1 of absinth juice, and a little mastic and bdellium, which was to be formed into katapotia, each of the size of a dried pea. Trallien refers to this same pill, but names the size as that of a kokkion, a seed. This was the origin of our pil. cochiæ or cocciæ as they came to be known. By this time the names globulus, glomeramus, and pilula had taken the place in Latin of katapotium. Actuarius says expressly that what the Greeks called katapotia the Romans knew as pilulæ. Trochisci were katapotia made very hard.
Lac Virginale. The name was applied to a dilute solution of acetate of lead (Goulard’s water) and also to water made milky by the addition of a little tincture of benzoin. Both were used by young girls for their complexions.
Lapis Infernalis. Nitrate of silver.
Lapis Medicamentosus. An astringent stone of which oxide of iron was the principal ingredient.
Lapis Mirabilis. An application for wounds, of which green vitriol was the essential ingredient.
Looch—sometimes loch, lohoch, lohoth—was a thick liquid, between a syrup and an electuary, almond emulsion being frequently the basis, which formerly patients were ordered to suck on a stick of liquorice cut in the form of a pencil for throat and lung irritation. Sometimes stronger medicines, like kermes mineral and ipecacuanha, were administered in this way. The word was of Arabic origin, and was derived from the verb la’aka, to lick.
Maceration is the digestion of a solid body in a liquid for the purpose of dissolving its active principles.