The treatment notes written by Forman, Napier, and their associates were formulaic and often heavily abbreviated. As a result, they can be tricky to interpret but become much easier with a key. Below are listed a few of the symbols, shortened forms, unfamiliar spellings, and typical terms encountered in these notes. It should be emphasised that this is by no means a comprehensive list; nor are the substances and treatments below necessarily those most commonly recorded. They should, however, provide a useful guide to some of the frequently occurring treatments encountered in the casebooks, and illustrate the sorts of medicaments that can be found in the entries. For a discussion of the sorts of treatment found in the casebooks see What treatments did they prescribe?, and for a few examples of treatments drawn from cases and from the notes in the casebooks see Selected treatments.
| Meanings | |
|---|---|
| ♁ | antimony |
| ♀ | copper (when used in conjunction with a quantity, such as ‘℥j’, one ounce) |
| ☿ vitæ | mercury vitæ; mercury of life, also known as powder of algaroth (a purgative) |
| ℥ | ounces |
| ℈ | scruples |
| ʒ | drachms, or drams |
| alhand | alhandal; a purgative extract from colocynth |
| an., ana | of each (i.e. the same quantity of each ingredient) |
| aq calcis | aqua calcis; lime water |
| aqua celestis | heavenly water |
| aqua fumar | aqua fumariæ; fumitory water |
| aqua hyp | aqua hypericum; water of St John’s wort |
| Auru[m] potab | Aurum potabile; potable gold |
| bened | benedicta laxativa; blessed laxative (according to Robert Hooper’s Lexicon Medicum, 1829, this is a ‘compound of turbeth, scammony, and spurges, with some warm aromatics’) |
| cardus water | a medicinal water made from Carduus Benedictus (now Cnicus Benedictus), blessed thistle |
| cephalic | a vein (a bloodletting instruction) |
| clyster | enema |
| cocl. | coclear; spoonful (a quantity) |
| confect Alkermes | confectio alchermes (a tonic) |
| cowslops | cowslips |
| crocus metall | crocus metallorum; yellow powder derived from antimony |
| decoct. | decoction |
| decoc St Iohnworte | decoction of St John’s wort |
| diacarth. | diacarthamum |
| diaphaenic | diaphoenicum; confection of dates |
| diaturb | diaturbith |
| dieta purgativa | purgative diet |
| dietar. phisick | dietary physic |
| elect ros. | electuarium rosarum; electuary of roses |
| elect rosar[um] | electuarium rosarum; electuary of roses |
| empl. | emplastrum; plaster |
| emplastrum Apostolicum | Apostolic plaster (a compound medicine) |
| flos vng | flos unguentorum; the flower of ointments |
| glister | clyster (enema) |
| gr: 3. | grains 3; a quantity |
| gut. 3 | guttae 3; 3 drops (a quantity) |
| hamec | confection of Hamech |
| hepatica | a vein (a bloodletting instruction) |
| Iecoraria, iecoraria | a vein (a bloodletting instruction) |
| Ieralog | Ieralogadii; Hiera Logadii, Hiera of Logadius (a medicine compounded of aloes and spices) |
| Isop | hyssop |
| Iunip[er] | juniper (note that this is often written by Napier so as to look like ‘Imp[er]’) |
| laudan | laudanum |
| lenitive potions | softening or soothing potions, possibly laxative |
| litle tabul. | a little tabulat; a little tablet |
| london triacle | London treacle, i.e. theriac |
| losenges | a pill for dissolving in the mouth |
| mediana | a vein (a bloodletting instruction) |
| mine ceph. | mine cephalicam; let blood from the cephalic vein |
| mine hepaticam | let blood from the hepatic vein |
| mine sang. | mine sanguinem; let blood |
| mitte sanguine[m] | let blood |
| oleu[m] spicæ | oil of aspic |
| oyle of spike | oil of aspic |
| oximell | oximel; a medicinal preparation |
| p | pulvis; powder |
| p holland | pulvis hollandi; pulvis Radulphi Hollandi; Holland Powder |
| p sctus | pulvis sanctus; Brasavola |
| pil. | pillula(e/s); pill(s) |
| pill lucis | pillulae lucis; pills of light (for eyesight) |
| piony | peony |
| poud of holl | pouder of holland; Holland Powder |
| preservative | a medicine intended to prevent something |
| pul holland | pulvis hollandi; Holland Powder |
| pul sanctus | pulvis sanctus; Brasavola |
| pultish | poultice |
| ℞ | Recipe; take (this usually, but does not always, indicate a recipe; some scribes habitually use this when writing out any medicine to be taken, whether or not they are providing a detailed recipe for it. Note also that ℞ in some contexts refers to the angel Raphael, including in some entries in which it appears that Napier was citing Raphael as the source of a suggested treatment. It also occasionally occurs in financial notes, meaning ‘received’) |
| R ♂ | Regulus of iron |
| ℞ ♂ | Regulus of iron |
| Reg ♂ | Regulus of iron |
| Regulus ♁ | Regulus of antimony |
| repercussive | a medicine intended to force humours away from a part of the body |
| rosa solis | sundew (a plant) |
| S | sigil; sometimes with the symbol of a planet or metal, as in ‘S ♃’, meaning a sigil made from tin and/or bearing an image associated with Jupiter, or ‘S ☉’, a sigil made from gold and/or bearing an image associated with the sun |
| saph. | saphena; a vein (a bloodletting instruction) |
| sarsap. | sarsaparilla |
| sc. | scammony |
| scam. | scammony |
| sirup | syrup |
| snesing pouder | sneezing powder |
| st. | stibium; antimony |
| stib. | stibium; antimony |
| sub lingua | below the tongue (a bloodletting instruction) |
| suppositor. | suppository |
| syr. | syrupus; syrup |
| syr. absynth. | syrupus absynthii; syrup of wormwood |
| tab. 4d | tabulatum 4d; a tablet of the weight of 4d (the amount varies; ‘ob’ is short for ‘obolus’, halfpenny; sometimes given in full as e.g. ‘the weight of 2d’) |
| tab mag weighing 6d | tabulatum magnum weighing 6d |
| tabulatum stibiatum | tablet of antimony |
| teriac | theriac (a complex medicine) |
| terra sigil[lata] | clay tablet bearing little images |
| theriac | a complex medicine |
| vena epatica | the hepatic vein (a bloodletting instruction) |
| venice turpent | venice turpentine; turpentine from the larch tree |
| vinu[m] stib. | vinum stibiatum; wine of antimony |
| vng. | unguentum; ointment |
| vng. albu[m] | unguentum album; white ointment |
| vng. hyru[n]d | unguentum hyrundineum; ointment of swallows |
| vnguentu[m] Tobacco | unguent of tobacco |
