Medicinal Boar’s Teeth
Medicinal Boar’s Teeth

Summary/Abstract: The tusks of the Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) are Galenical simples of rather minor importance, often forming part of the zoological component of materiamedica cabinets and collections from the early eighteenth century. Imported into Britain from Germany, they were rendered into a powder and combined with additional ingredients in relatively uncomplicated polypharmaceutical preparations, usually delivered internally in a liquid medium. Somewhat restricted in their application, powdered tusks were incorporated into prescriptions for diseases of the throat and respiratory system, notably peritonsillar abscesses (quinsy), pleurisy and pneumonia. They may also have been employed as an antispasmodic and antihysteric.

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