materia medica Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the science or study of drugs: their preparation and properties and uses and effects
    pharmacological medicine; pharmacology.

WordNet

Ma*te"ri*a med"i*ca
Etymology
L. See Matter, and Medical.
Definitions
  1. Material or substance used in the composition of remedies; -- a general term for all substances used as curative agents in medicine.
  2. That branch of medical science which treats of the nature and properties of all the substances that are employed for the cure of diseases.

Webster 1913