A chemical compound containing silver used in medicine and as an antiseptic agent.
From Latin argentum (silver) + chemical suffix -ol, indicating an alcohol or phenolic compound. Created in pharmaceutical chemistry during the late 19th century as a silver-based antimicrobial compound.
Before antibiotics became common, argentol was a go-to disinfectant—doctors valued it because silver naturally kills bacteria, which is why hospitals still use silver in wound dressings today.
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