Opodeldoc 311507 205851552 2008-04-15T19:17:11Z Atlan 3631 [[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 204664948 by [[Special:Contributions/202.82.33.202|202.82.33.202]] ([[User talk:202.82.33.202|talk]]) '''Opodeldoc''' is a name given by the [[physician]] [[Paracelsus]] to a sort of [[liniment]] which he invented, or at least bestowed this name on. Paracelsus's opodeldoc was a mixture of [[soap]] in [[ethanol|alcohol]], to which [[camphor]] and sometimes a number of [[herb]]al essences, most notably [[wormwood]], were added. Paracelsus's recipe forms the basis for most later versions of liniment. [[Kurt Peters]] speculates that the curious name ''opodeldoc'' was concocted by Paracelsus from syllables from the words "''opo''ponax, b''del''lium, and aristol''och''ia." ''[[Opoponax]]'' is a variety of [[myrrh]]; ''[[bdellium]]'' is ''[[Commiphora wightii]]'', which produces a similar resin; and ''[[aristolochia]]'' is a widely distributed [[genus]] which includes the [[snakeroot]] and many other species. The name suggests that these aromatic plants may have figured in Paracelsus's recipe. The [[Pharmacopoeia]] of the [[United States]] (U.S.P.) gives a recipe for opodeldoc that contains: * Powdered soap, 60 grams; * Camphor, 45 grams; * [[Essential oil|Oil]] of [[rosemary]], 10 milliliters; * Alcohol, 700 milliliters; * Water, enough to make 1000 milliliters The name ''Old Opodeldoc'' was formerly used as a standard name for a [[stock character]] who was a physician, especially when played as a [[comedy|comic]] figure. [[Edgar Allan Poe]] used "Oppodeldoc" as a [[pseudonym]] for a character in the [[short story]] "[[s:The Literary Life of Thingum Bob, Esq.|The Literary Life of Thingum Bob, Esq.]]" Steer's Opodeldoc was a [[patent medicine]] that was widely promoted during Poe's life. As late as the early 1990s 'Epideldoc'(sic) was made up on demand by several pharmacists in the Northwest of England. [[Category:Ointments]] [[de:Opodeldok]] {{Pharma-stub}}