Natural asphalt/bitumen from the Dead Sea Apothecary vessel of the 18th century with inscription<unk>  Egyptian mummy seller (1875, Félix Bonfils) Wooden apothecary vessel with inscription "MUMIÆ", Hamburg Museum<unk> ,<unk> , or originally mummy referred to several different preparations in the history of medicine, from "mineral pitch" to "powdered human<unk> s". It originated from Arabic mūmiyā "a type of resinous bitumen found in Western Asia and used curatively" in traditional Islamic medicine, which was translated as pissasphaltus (from "pitch" and "asphalt") in ancient Greek medicine. In medieval European medicine, mūmiyā "bitumen" was transliterated into Latin as<unk>  meaning both "a bituminous medicine from Persia" and "mummy". Merchants in apothecaries dispensed expensive<unk>  bitumen, which was thought to be an effective cure-all for many ailments. It was also used as an aphrodisiac. Beginning around the 12th century when supplies of imported natural bitumen ran short,<unk>  was misinterpreted as "mummy", and the word's meaning expanded to "a black resinous exudate scraped out from embalmed Egyptian<unk> s". This began a period of lucrative trade between Egypt and Europe, and suppliers substituted rare<unk>  exudate with entire<unk> s, either embalmed or desiccated. After Egypt banned the shipment of<unk>  in the 16th century, unscrupulous European apothecaries began to sell fraudulent<unk>  prepared by embalming and desiccating fresh corpses. During the Renaissance, scholars proved that translating bituminous<unk>  as mummy was a mistake, and physicians stopped prescribing the ineffective drug. Lastly, artists in the 17–19th centuries used ground up<unk> s to tint a popular oil-paint called mummy brown.
Mummia
Postpartum blues
Dipsomania
Amenomania
Buddhism and abortion
Marasmus
Potomania
Erotomania