Balsamum de Mumiis

Body disease and historical medicine · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. A balsam defined through extraction from flesh.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 10; facsimile PDF page 338.

Historical Definition

Balsamum de Mumiis is what is extracted from flesh.

Meaning

This qualified name identifies its source rather than repeating the whole account under Balsamum. Flesh is the stated starting material, and extraction is the action. The entry gives no particular body, solvent or resulting form. It therefore cannot support a narrower recipe without another passage.

The general balsam entry concerns preservation and distinguishes internal from external forms. That context helps locate the name within the dictionary, but the present sentence only states the extraction from flesh. Mumia-related expressions must be read with their qualifications: elsewhere they can identify bone marrow or other bodily preparations.

Places to Read

Balsamum. A preservative substance described in both bodily and external forms.

Mumia. Balmed flesh, expressly extending beyond human flesh.

Axungia de Mumia. Two expressions identifying bone marrow.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 10; facsimile PDF page 338 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Balsamum de Mumiis ; compare Balsamum, Mumia, Axungia de Mumia

See also. Balsamum; Mumia; Axungia de Mumia