sentences:  It is transparent, colorless, nearly odorless, and oily and is composed of saturated hydrocarbons derived from petroleum.The term "paraffinum perliquidum" is sometimes used to denote light liquid paraffin, while the term "paraffinum subliquidum" is sometimes used to denote a thicker mineral oil.Petroleum is said to have been used as a medicine since 400 BCE, and has been mentioned in the texts of classical writers Herodotus, Plutarch, Dioscorides, Pliny, and others.