Following extensive bibliographical research, a chronological history of the pharmaceutical use of gold is outlined through four periods: antiquity, the Middle Ages, early modern times and the seventeenth century. At the time of its highest popularity as a medicine, gold was usually acquired and employed in the form of fine filings or thin leaves of standard size. The most complex and famous medicine containing gold was Aurea Alexandrina, created in the late Middle Ages and later copied into many books. A complete list of its ingredients in Latin and English is included in the present paper. As in Aurea Alexandrina, gold was very often accompanied in a formula by other precious components like silver, gems and pearls. In addition to being an important ingredient in many medicines, gold was also used for making surgical instruments and for coating pills that otherwise had a bad taste or smell. The medicinal use of gold, even when it was very fashionable, was not unanimously regarded as effective and many authors clearly expressed either enthusiasm or scepticism about this matter.
...MoreBook C. J. Duffin; R. T. J. Moody; C. Gardner-Thorpe (2013) A History of Geology and Medicine.
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