noun
- A cathartic substance obtained from the juice of the squirting cucumber (Ecballium elaterium), formerly used as a purgative medicine.
Usage: archaic; medical/pharmaceutical history
Examples
- Elaterium was a popular remedy in medieval and Renaissance medicine.
- The ancient physicians prescribed elaterium as a powerful laxative.
- Modern pharmacology has largely replaced elaterium with safer alternatives.
- Elaterium was extracted by collecting and drying the juice of the squirting cucumber.