TURPENTINE, a transparent sort of resin, flowing either naturally or by incision from several unctuous and resinous trees, as the terebinthus, larch, pine, fir, &c.
The turpentine of Chio or Scio, which is the only genuine kind, and that which gives the denomination to all the rest, is a whitish resin, bordering a little on green, very clear, and a little odoriferous; drawn by incision from a tree called terebinthus, very common in that island, as also in Cyprus, and some parts of France and Spain.
The uses of turpentine in medicine are innumerable. It is a great vulnerary, and very detergent, and as such is prescribed in abscesses, ulcerations, &c. It promotes expectoration, and as such is prescribed in diseases of the lungs and breast; but it is most famous for clearing the urinary passages, and as such prescribed in obstructions of the reins, in gonorrhoeas, &c.