Relating to a substance or treatment that kills or expels parasitic worms (helminths) from the body.
From Greek anti- (against) + helmins (worm). The term emerged in medicine in the 18th-19th centuries to describe treatments for parasitic infections that plagued both humans and animals.
Before modern sanitation, anthelminthic treatments were among the most commonly prescribed medicines — entire populations were chronically infected with parasitic worms, making worm medicines as essential as aspirin is today.
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