materia medica: Meaning and Definition of

ma•te•ri•a med•i•ca

Pronunciation: (mu-tēr'ē-u med'i-ku), [key]
  1. the remedial substances employed in medicine.
  2. Also calledthe science dealing with the sources, physical characteristics, uses, and doses of drugs.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.