Medicines or substances that cleanse the bowels; laxatives or purgatives that cause bowel movements.
From Greek katharos (pure) + -ic + -s (plural). Medical term that literally means 'purifying agents,' originally applied to any cleansing substance.
Castor oil, senna, and prunes were prescribed as cathartics for centuries—doctors genuinely believed constipation caused almost every disease, so they prescribed dangerous laxatives that would make you dangerously dehydrated!
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