In ancient medicine, a remedy or treatment supposed to help expel phlegm or moisture from the body.
From Greek apo- (away) and phlegma (inflammation or phlegm), literally meaning 'to remove phlegm.' This term belongs to the humoral medicine framework of ancient and medieval medicine.
This word is a fossil from the era of 'four humors' medicine—when doctors thought illness came from imbalances of blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. Modern medicine has completely abandoned these ideas, but the word survives in historical medical texts!
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