Alterative is a former categorisation of materia medica covering various substances, often metals or minerals used in the treatment of chronic conditions to alter the body's metabolic processes.[1] Substances included in this category included iron, mercury, phosphorus, manganese and arsenic,[2] as well as iodine.[3] In modern medicine these are categorised separately according to the biochemical nature of the change they bring about and their categorisation as "alteratives" has become obsolete.[2]
References
edit- ^ Samuel O. L. Potter (1889). A Compend of Materia Medica, Therapeutics, and Prescription Writing. Phildelphia. p. 36 – via Google Books.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b "Alterative". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Vol. 1 (14 ed.). 1930. p. 709.
- ^ William Davis (February 1895). "Iodine and Its Compounds". Journal of Materia Medica. Vol. 36, no. 2. p. 25.