potassium bromide

American  

noun

Chemistry.

1. a white, crystalline, water-soluble powder, KBr, having a bitter saline taste: used chiefly in the manufacture of photographic papers and plates, in engraving, and in medicine as a sedative.

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potassium bromide British  

noun

1. a white crystalline soluble substance with a bitter saline taste used in making photographic papers and plates and in medicine as a sedative. Formula: KBr

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Etymology

Origin of potassium bromide

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

potassium bromide

Some bromide salts, notably potassium bromide, were found to be natural sedatives, and were prescribed in the 19th Century as a remedy for epilepsy.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2014

Some advertisers condemn all the bromides, and prescribe a mixture of them; others condemn potassium bromide, and shamelessly forward a pure solution of this same salt in water as a "positive cure!"

From Epilepsy, Hysteria, and Neurasthenia Their Causes, Symptoms, & Treatment by Briggs, Isaac George

Before using, add one drop of ten per cent solution of potassium bromide to each ounce of the solution.

From The Scrap Book, Volume 1, No. 1 March 1906 by Various

P. Rosenbach has found experimentally that potassium bromide diminishes the sensibility of the cortical substance of the cerebrum to electric excitement, while, the excitability of the underlying white substance remains unaltered.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 455, September 20, 1884 by Various

If it occur early in the disease, it will generally be sufficient to prescribe at bedtime ten grains each of potassium bromide and chloral, repeated once or twice during the night.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various