confectio

Confectio is a Latin term used in historical medicine and pharmacy to denote the act of preparing a medicinal preparation by combining ingredients according to a prescription. The word can refer to the process of compounding as well as to the finished product resulting from that process. In English-language historical pharmacology, confectio sections describe how medicines were made, and the resulting preparations could take various forms, such as decoctions, syrups, ointments, and other dosage forms.

Etymology and meaning: Confectio derives from the Latin conficere, meaning to complete or accomplish, with the noun form denoting a completed preparation. The term reflects an older tradition in which medicines were created by manual synthesis and assembly rather than by prepackaged commercial manufacturing.

Historical usage: The concept and term were common in medieval and early modern pharmacopoeias and medical texts. Confector or confectio instructions laid out standardized methods for combining active ingredients with excipients, solvents, or carriers, often including steps like grinding, dissolving, heating, and evaporating. The emphasis was on producing a reproducible medicinal preparation according to a prescribed recipe.

Modern usage: In contemporary English, confectio is largely obsolete outside of historical or Latin texts. The modern equivalents are compounding and formulation, terms used to describe the preparation of medicines by combining ingredients under regulated procedures. The concept remains central to pharmaceutical practice, even as terminology has shifted toward standardized formulations and quality-control standards.

See also: Compounding, Formulation, Pharmacopoeia.