Materia medica
Materia Medica
Materia Medica (pronounced: ma-te-ri-a me-di-ca) is a Latin term from the Roman Empire, which refers to the body of collected knowledge about the therapeutic properties of any substance used for healing (i.e., medicines). The term derives from the Latin words "materia", meaning "material" or "subject", and "medica", meaning "medical".
History
The concept of Materia Medica was first systematized by Dioscorides, a Greek physician in the 1st century AD, in his work De Materia Medica. This work remained an authoritative reference on medical matters for over 1500 years, until the Renaissance period.
Modern Usage
In modern times, the term "Materia Medica" is used in the field of Homeopathy to describe the compiled information about all the substances that have been used as homeopathic remedies. Each remedy's Materia Medica provides a detailed description of the symptom patterns associated with that substance.
Related Terms
- Pharmacology: The branch of medicine that deals with the uses, effects, and modes of action of drugs.
- Pharmacopoeia: A book containing directions for the identification of compound medicines, and published by the authority of a government or a medical or pharmaceutical society.
- Therapeutics: The branch of medicine concerned with the treatment and prevention of diseases.
See Also
- List of plants used in herbalism
- List of pharmaceutical companies
- Medical prescription
- Medicinal plants
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Materia medica
- Wikipedia's article - Materia medica
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