galéniques

Galéniques refers to the art and science of formulating medicines for patient use, a central concern of both historical and contemporary pharmacy. The term derives from Claudius Galenus (Galen), the 2nd-century physician whose writings on drug preparation and the theory of the four humors shaped Western medicine for centuries.

In the Galenic framework, medicines were selected and prepared by combining natural substances—plants, minerals, and animal products—into dosage forms designed for specific routes of administration. The aim was to restore balance among the body's humors and to ensure the active constituents could be delivered safely and effectively. Practitioners extracted, purified, and compounded ingredients with vehicles and additives to improve stability, palatability, and administration.

Common galenic forms included solid preparations such as pills, lozenges, and tablets; semi-solid preparations like ointments and plasters; and liquids such as infusions, decoctions, tinctures, syrups, and emulsions. The discipline also covered the choice of excipients, processing methods, storage, and shelf life, all guided by prevailing medical theories and available technology.

Although modern chemistry and pharmacology have replaced humoral theory as the basis of medicine, the historical concept of galéniques remains central in studies of the history of pharmacology and in some languages, where galéniques denotes the science of drug preparation or dosage-form development. Today, the field of formulation science encompasses these concerns within contemporary regulatory frameworks.