materia medica

[ muh-teer-ee-uh med-i-kuh ]

noun

1. (used with a plural verb) the remedial substances employed in medicine.
2. (used with a singular verb) Also called pharmacognosy. the science dealing with the sources, physical characteristics, uses, and doses of drugs.

materia medica

/ məˈtɪərɪə ˈmɛdɪkə /

noun

1. the branch of medical science concerned with the study of drugs used in the treatment of disease: includes pharmacology, clinical pharmacology, and the history and physical and chemical properties of drugs
2. the drugs used in the treatment of disease

Word History and Origins

Origin of materia medica¹

1690–1700; < Medieval Latin: medical material

Word History and Origins

Origin of materia medica¹

C17: from Medieval Latin: medical matter

Example Sentences

Of all classes of the materia medica, none are more uncertain in their action than expectorants.

From Project Gutenberg

A copy of materia-medica and a Latin dictionary were the only guides to the beginner of a medical career in those days.

From Project Gutenberg

About the middle of the fifteenth century flourished Saladino, famous as an authority on materia medica.

From Project Gutenberg

He acknowledged good in all of them, and he welcomed most of them in preference to materia medica.

From Project Gutenberg

The time had come for a separation of the two subjects of Botany and Materia Medica.

From Project Gutenberg