Medical Recipes
Until around 1900, medical recipes and most European pharmacopoeias were written in Latin. Here is a typical example from the middle of the 19th century.
| Infusion of Dandelion, &c. | |||
| ℞ | Infusi Taraxaci, f℥iv. | 4 fluid ounces of dandelion infusion | |
| Extracti Taraxaci, fʒij. | 2 fluid drachms of dandelion extract | ||
| Sodæ Carbonatis, ʒß. | 1⁄2 drachm of sodium carbonate | ||
| Potassæ Tartratis, ʒiij. | 3 drachms of potassium tartrate | ||
| Tincturæ Rhei, fʒiij. | 3 fluid drachms of rhubarb tincture | ||
| ———— Hyoscyami, gtt. xx. | 20 drops of henbane tincture | ||
| Fiat mistura. Signa.—One third part to be taken three times a day. In dropsical and visceral affections. |
Make mixture. Write: "One third part to be taken three times a day. In dropsical and visceral affections." |
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The use of Latin ensured that the recipes could be read by an international audience. There was a technical reason why 3 ʒ was written ʒiij, and 1⁄2 ʒ as ʒß or ʒss: The letters "ss" are an abbreviation for the Latin "semis" meaning "half," while the Sharp S ("ß") is an abbreviation for "ss." In Apothecaries' Latin, numbers were generally written, in Roman numerals, immediately following the symbol. Since only the units of the apothecaries' system were used in this way, this made it clear that the civil weight system was not meant.
Read more about this topic: Apothecaries' System
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