boric acid)
Water-soluble white or colorless crystalline compound, H3BO3, used as an
antiseptic and preservative.

boutonniere
Flower or small bunch of flowers worn in a buttonhole.

bryonia
Small genus of perennial old world tendril-bearing vines (family
Cucurbitaceae) having large leaves, small flowers, and red or black
fruit; Dried root of a bryony (Bryonia alba or B. dioica) used as a
cathartic.

bubo (buboes)
An inflamed, tender swelling of a lymph node, especially in the area of
the armpit or groin, that is characteristic of bubonic plague and
syphilis.

bubonic plague (black death)
Contagious, often fatal epidemic disease caused by the bacterium
Yersinia (syn. Pasteurella) pestis, transmitted from person to person or
by the bite of fleas from an infected rodent, especially a rat; produces
chills, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and the formation of buboes.

buchu
South African shrubs of the genus Agathosma, especially A. betulina and
A. crenulata; the leaves are used as a mild diuretic and provide an
aromatic oil used for flavoring.

burdock
Weedy, chiefly biennial plants of the genus Arctium.

cachexia
Weight loss, wasting of muscle, loss of appetite, and general debility
during a chronic disease.

cajeput (paperbark)
Australian and southeast Asian tree (Melaleuca quinquenervia, M.
leucadendron) of the myrtle family (Myrtaceae); yields a pungent
medicinal oil; grown in Florida.

calamine
White or colorless mineral, essentially Zn4Si2O7(OH)2.H2O
(hemimorphite). Pink, odorless, tasteless powder of zinc oxide with a
small amount of ferric oxide, dissolved in mineral oils and used in skin
lotions.

calcareous
Composed of calcium carbonate, calcium, or limestone; chalky.

cale
Variety of cabbage in which the leaves do not form a head, being nearly
the wild form of the species; also called kail.

calomel
Colorless, white or brown tasteless compound, Hg2Cl2, used as a
purgative and insecticide. Mercurous chloride.

cambric
Finely woven white linen or cotton fabric.

cantharis (pl. cantharides) (also called Spanish fly)
Brilliant green blister beetle (Lytta vesicatoria or Cantharis
vesicatoria) of central and southern Europe. Toxic preparation of the
crushed, dried bodies of this beetle, formerly used as a
counter-irritant for skin blisters and as an aphrodisiac.

capsicum
Topical American pepper plants, genus Capsi