The Complete Works of Claudius Galen, Vol. 13

ON MEDICINES ACCORDING TO LOCATIONS, BOOK 8

A 2

Ed. Chart. XIII. [525.] Ed. Bas. II. (255.)

...whether the condition occurs in this vessel or in the muscles located in the larynx, physicians call the medicines used to heal them "arteriacs" original: ἀρτηριακὰς / arteriacas. These are medicines specifically formulated for the windpipe and respiratory tract.. As I have mentioned, they do not add the term "antidotes" to these descriptions. The varieties of these medicines recorded by physicians are different in their qualities and powers. Because of this, it often happens that those who use them without making a distinction fail to achieve their medical goal.

You can learn that there is a great difference between the formulas written in pharmacological books from three specific examples. The first type is completely free from stinging. It is an effective soothing agent emplastic: a medicine that adheres to the surface to protect, coat, or smooth it which levels out any roughness in the throat. The second type is the opposite of the first. It possesses a significant amount of biting sharpness. If this medicine were applied to a healthy part of the body, it would actually cause it to become rough. The third type is in the middle of these two. This class of respiratory medicines has a cleansing power that does not sting ryptic: a detergent or cleansing agent that removes phlegm or waste.

The soothing medicine is prepared from sweet Cretan wine original: γλυκέος Κρητικοῦ / passo Cretico. This was a wine made from sun-dried grapes, used here as a medicinal base., gum, tragacanth, and licorice. The sharp medicine is made from pepper, cassia, cinnamon, galbanum, and terebinth resin. The intermediate medicine consists of the juice of barley groats original: πτισάνης χυλοῦ / ptisanae succo. Barley water was a staple of ancient medicine used to soothe the digestive and respiratory tracts., almonds, and mashed bean porridge...