Terms-Plants of the Medicinal Garden - Palm Beach State College
   
   

 

 

 

 
Terms

Abortifacient: a drug or device that causes abortion

Amenorrhea: abnormal suppression or absence of menstruation
Antihemorrhagic: arresting or reducing hemorrhage

Antihydropic: a remedy for dropsy (swelling from excessive accumulation of watery fluid in cells, tissues, or serous cavities)
Carminative: a drug that induces the expulsion of gas from the stomach or intestines
Cathartic: an agent for purging the bowels, especially a laxative
Decoction: a liquid preparation made by boiling a medicinal plant with water
Emetic: to induce vomiting
Emmenagogue: a drug or agent that induces or hastens menstrual flow
Emollient: a substance that softens or soothes something, especially the skin
Febrifuge: a drug that reduces fever
Hemostat: an agent, such as a chemical, that stops bleeding

Menorrhagia: excessive menstrual discharge
Nervine: acting on or relieving disorders of the nerves; soothing the nerves
Pectoral: a medicine for relieving disorders of the chest or respiratory tract
Poultice: a medical dressing consisting of a soft heated mass to treat wounds
Purgative: a drug or other substance that causes evacuation of the bowels
Rubefacient: a substance that causes the skin to become red, especially a cream or ointment used as a counterirritant
Styptic: a drug that slows bleeding by contacting blood vessels or by accelerating clotting
Sudorific: a drug or other agent that causes sweating
Vermifuge: a drug or other substance that causes parasites to be expelled from the intestines