Laudanum remains available by prescription in the United States (under the generic name "opium tincture") and in the European Union and United Kingdom (under the trade name Dropizol), although today the drugs therapeutic indication is generally limited to controlling diarrhea when other medications have failed. The terms laudanum and tincture of opium are generally interchangeable, but in contemporary medical practice, the latter is used almost exclusively. History
Paracelsuss laudanum
Paracelsus, a 16th-century Swiss alchemist, experimented with various opium concoctions, and recommended opium for reducing pain. One of his preparations, a pill which he extolled as his "archanum" or "laudanum", may have contained opium. Paracelsus laudanum was strikingly different from the standard laudanum of the 17th century and beyond, containing crushed pearls, musk, amber, and other substances. British laudanum
One researcher has documented that "Laudanum, as listed in the London Pharmacopoeia (1618), was a pill made from opium, saffron, castor, ambergris, musk and nutmeg". : 45

Sydenhams laudanum
In the 1660s English physician Thomas Sydenham (1624–1689) popularized a proprietary opium tincture that he also named laudanum, although it differed substantially from the laudanum of Paracelsus. In 1676 Sydenham published a seminal work, Medical Observations Concerning the History and Cure of Acute Diseases, in which he promoted his brand of opium tincture, and advocated its use for a range of medical conditions. 18th century laudanum
By the 18th century, the medicinal properties of opium and laudanum were well known, and the term "laudanum" came to refer to any combination of opium and alcohol.
Complement 4 deficiency is a genetic condition affecting complement component 4.It can present with lupus-like symptoms. References


== External links ==