meatus
Body opening or passage, such as the opening
of the ear or the urethra.
menorrhagia
Unusually heavy or extended menstrual
flow.
menstruum
Solvent used to extract compounds from
plant and animal tissues and
preparing drugs.
messaline
Lightweight, soft, shiny silk cloth with
a twilled or satin weave.
mezereon
Poisonous Eurasian ornamental shrub (Daphne
mezereum) with fragrant
lilac-purple flowers and small scarlet
fruit. The dried bark of this
plant was used externally as a vesicant
(blistering agent) and
internally for arthritis.
miliary
Appearance of millet seeds. Small
skin lesions with the appearance of
millet seeds.
mullein
Eurasian plants of the genus Verbascum,
especially V. thapsus. Also
called flannel leaf, velvet plant.
muriate
Chloride; compound of chlorine with another
element or radical;
especially, a salt or ester of hydrochloric
acid called.
myrrh
Aromatic gum resin from trees and shrubs
of the genus Commiphora of
India, Arabia, and eastern Africa, used
in perfume and incense.
methyl salicylate
Liquid ester C8H8O3 obtained from the
leaves of wintergreen (Gaultheria
procumbens) or the bark of a birch (Betula
lenta); now made
synthetically, and used as a flavoring
and a counterirritant.
motherwort
Eurasian plants of the genus Leonurus,
especially L. cardiaca, a weed
having clusters of small purple or pink
flowers.
mugwort
Aromatic plants of the genus Artemisia,
especially A. vulgaris, native
to Eurasia; used as a condiment.
mustard plaster (sinapism)
Medicinal plaster made with a paste-like
mixture of powdered black
mustard, flour, and water, used as a counterirritant.
nephritis
Various acute or chronic inflammations
of the kidneys, such as Bright’s
disease.
naphthalene (naphthaline, tar camphor)
White crystalline compound, C10H8, derived
from coal tar or petroleum
and used in manufacturing dyes, moth repellents,
and explosives and as a
solvent.
nebulize
To convert a liquid to a fine spray;
atomize.
To treat with a medicated spray.
nainsook
Soft lightweight muslin used for babies.
Neroli
An essential oil made by distilling the
flowers of the orange; it is
used in perfume.
nitre (niter, saltpeter)
Potassium nitrate, KNO3, used in making
gunpowder.
nux vomica
Tree (Strychnos nux-vomica) native to
southeast Asia, having poisonous
seeds that are the source of the medicinal
alkaloids strychnine and
brucine.
ocher (ochre)
Yellow, brown, or red mineral oxides of
iron used as pigments.
oil of vitriol
Sulfuric acid; highly corrosive, dense,
oily liquid, H2so4, colorless to
dark brown depending on its purity and
used to manufacture a wide
variety of chemicals and materials including
fertilizers, paints,
detergents, and explosives.


