lunar caustic

American  

noun

Medicine/Medical, Chemistry.

1. silver nitrate, AgNO 3 , especially in a sticklike mold, used to cauterize tissues.

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lunar caustic British  

noun

1. silver nitrate fused into sticks, which were formerly used in cauterizing

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Etymology

Origin of lunar caustic

First recorded in 1790–1800

Example Sentences

Melt some lunar caustic in water, and write therewith thy message on the shell of hard-boiled eggs.

From The Lion of Janina The Last Days of the Janissaries by Jókai, Mór

Dissolve a drachm of lunar caustic, in half an ounce of pure cold water.

From The New England Cook Book, or Young Housekeeper's Guide Being a Collection of the Most Valuable Receipts; Embracing all the Various Branches of Cookery, and Written in a Minute and Methodical Manner by Anonymous

It is by no means my intention to recommend the application of the lunar caustic as an infallible remedy for all local diseases.

From An Essay on the Application of the Lunar Caustic in the Cure of Certain Wounds and Ulcers by Higginbottom, John

Suction, ammonia, oil, the use of the knife, application of fresh mold, lunar caustic, leaves of certain plants, all these and more are mentioned.

From The Swiss Family Robinson or, Adventures on a Desert Island by Wyss, Jean Rudolph

The use of nitrate of silver, which in the old days was called lunar caustic, because it had, in a fresh state, a silvery, moon-like sheen, was largely a matter of signatures.

From Psychotherapy by Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)