Opodeldoc is a name given by the physician A physician — also known as medical practitioner, doctor of medicine, medical doctor, or simply doctor — practices the ancient profession of medicine, which is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease or injury. This properly requires both a detailed knowledge of the academic Paracelsus Paracelsus was a Renaissance physician, botanist, alchemist, astrologer, and general occultist. "Paracelsus", meaning "equal to or greater than Celsus", refers to the Roman encyclopedist Aulus Cornelius Celsus from the first century known for his tract on medicine. He is also credited for giving zinc its name, calling it zincum to a sort of liniment Liniment, from the Latin linere, to anoint, is a medicated topical preparation for application to the skin. Preparations of this type are also called balm. Liniments are of a similar viscosity to lotions (being significantly less viscous than an ointment or cream) but unlike a lotion a liniment is applied with friction; that is, a liniment is which he invented, or at least bestowed this name on.
Paracelsus's opodeldoc was a mixture of soap Soap is an anionic surfactant used in conjunction with water for washing and cleaning, which historically comes either in solid bars or in the form of a viscous liquid in alcohol Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a potent psychoactive drug, best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages and in modern thermometers. Ethanol is one of the oldest recreational drugs. In common usage, it is often referred to, to which camphor Camphor is a waxy, white or transparent solid with a strong, aromatic odor. It is a terpenoid with the chemical formula C10H16O. It is found in wood of the camphor laurel , a large evergreen tree found in Asia (particularly in Borneo and Taiwan) and also of Dryobalanops aromatica, a giant of the Bornean forests. It also occurs in some other and sometimes a number of herbal In American English the pronunciation of "herb" varies by individual, with the initial "h" either silent or pronounced on no noticeable regional or socioeconomic basis, but in British English the sounded "h" predominates: /ˈhɜːb/ (see American and British English pronunciation differences) essences, most notably wormwood, were added. Paracelsus's recipe forms the basis for most later versions of liniment.[1]
Kurt Peters speculates that the curious name opodeldoc was concocted by Paracelsus from syllables from the words "opoponax, bdellium, and aristolochia." Opoponax Opopanax chironium, also known as "sweet myrrh" or "bisabol myrrh," is a herb that grows one to three feet high and produces a large, yellow flower. The plant thrives in warm climates like Iran, Italy, Greece, Turkey and Somalia, but also grows in cooler climates. Some view opoponax grown in cooler climates as being of inferior is a variety of myrrh Myrrh is a reddish-brown resinous material, the dried sap of a number of trees, but primarily from Commiphora myrrha, which is native to Yemen, Somalia, the eastern parts of Ethiopia, and Commiphora gileadensis, which is native to Jordan. The sap of a number of other Commiphora and Balsamodendron species is also known as myrrh, including that from; bdellium Bdellium (Hebrew bedolach) is an aromatic gum like myrrh that is exuded from a tree. A medieval Arab writer first made the identification with gum guggul, the species Commiphora wightii, although "bdellium" has also been used to identify the African species C. africana and at least one other Indian species, C. stocksiana. Bdellium was an is Commiphora wightii, which produces a similar resin; and Aristolochia Aristolochia is a large plant genus with over 500 species. Collectively known as birthworts, pipevines or Dutchman's pipes, they are the namesake of the family . They are widespread and occur in the most diverse climates, but they are not native to Australia. Some species, like A. utriformis and A. westlandii, are threatened with extinction is a widely distributed genus In biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit (a taxon) used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender", cognate with Greek: γένος – genos, "race, stock, kin" which includes Aristolochia pfeiferi, Aristolochia rugosa and Aristolochia trilobata that are used in folk medicine to cure snakebites.. The name suggests that these aromatic plants may have figured in Paracelsus's recipe.[2]
The Pharmacopoeia Pharmacopoeia or less typically pharmacopeia , in its modern technical sense, is a book containing directions for the identification of samples and the preparation of compound medicines, and published by the authority of a government or a medical or pharmaceutical society[clarification needed] of the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language (U.S.P.) gives a recipe for opodeldoc that contains:
- Powdered soap, 60 grams;
- Camphor, 45 grams;
- Oil An essential oil is a concentrated, hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile or ethereal oils, or simply as the "oil of" the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove. An oil is "essential" in the sense that it carries a distinctive scent, or of rosemary Rosemary is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant evergreen needle-like leaves. It is native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which also includes many other herbs, 10 milliliters;
- Alcohol, 700 milliliters;
- Water, enough to make 1000 milliliters
The name Old Opodeldoc was formerly used as a standard name for a stock character A stock character is a stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes, but they are often more narrowly defined. Stock characters are a key component of genre fiction, providing who was a physician, especially when played as a comic Comedy as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse generally intended to amuse, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in Ancient Greece. In the Athenian democracy, the public opinion of voters was figure. Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He is further credited with used "Oppodeldoc" as a pseudonym Pseudonyms are often used to hide an individual's real identity, as with writers' pen names, graffiti artists, resistance fighters' or terrorists' noms de guerre and computer hackers' handles. Actors, musicians, and other performers sometimes use stage names, for example, to mask their ethnic backgrounds. Stage names are also used as something for a character in the short story A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels or books. Short story definitions based upon length differ somewhat even among professional writers, due somewhat in part to the fragmentation of the medium "The Literary Life of Thingum Bob, Esq."[3] Steer's Opodeldoc was a patent medicine Patent medicine refers to medical compounds of questionable effectiveness sold under a variety of names and labels. The phrase is somewhat misleading because for the most part these products were trademarked, not patented . In ancient times, such medicine was called nostrum remedium ("our remedy" in Latin). The name patent medicine has that was widely promoted during Poe's life. As late as the early 1990s 'Epideldoc'(sic) was made up on demand by several pharmacists in the Northwest of England.
References
- ^ Michael Quinion, World Wide Words, May 27, 2006
- ^ Burton R. Pollin, "Poe’s Literary Use of “Oppodeldoc” and Other Patent Medicines", Poe Studies, December 1971, vol. IV, no. 2, 4:30-32
- ^ Pollin, above
And personal evidence of it having been used in the 20th Century UK, can be found here. http://jowett.wordpress.com/2009/10/07/lincoln/
Categories: Ointments |
