Medicine Terms

Analgesics- drugs that produce pain relief
Astringents- drugs that harden or contract tissues
Carminatives- drugs that produce a feeling of comfort in the stomach and intestines and relieve formation of gas
Cathartic- acts on the intestines to stimulate bowel movements (Rush's Pills)
Counterirritants- drugs that act on the skin causing redness; believed to reieve inflammation in remote organs or tissues
Dermatitis- infammation of the skin
Diaphoretics- drugs that produce perspiration (sweating to get rid of a high fever)
Diuretics- drugs that increase the production of urine in the kidneys
Emetics- drugs that produce vomiting
Emollients- drugs that soften and protect the skin
Lavage- the act of washing a tissue with some solution
Purgatives- drugs that stimulate bowel movements, same as cathartic
Poultices- drugs that were applied to the skin to relive pain or to dilate blood vessels on the skin, functioning as a counterirritant
Resins- thick, sticky chemicals from the sap of various trees; many very dissolved in alcohol
Stimulants- drugs that stimulate the patient, causing an increased level of consciousness and/or activity
Tinctures- drugs mixed in an alcoholic solution of usually from 10 to 20 percent concentration
Tonics- drugs that were thought to increase vigor and health