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Arsenic

砒石 〔砒石〕pī shí

Latin pharmacognostic name: Arsenicum

Alternate Chinese names: 信石 xìn shí; 信砒 xìn pī; 白砒 bái pī; 人言 rén yán

Kingdom: Mineral

Origin (other sources): Arsenolitum; Arsenopyritum; Realgar

Use: Medicinal

Category:

Properties: Acrid and sour; hot; toxic.

Channel entry: Stomach and intestines channels.

Indications:

Eliminates phlegm and interrupts malaria; kills worms, and eliminates malign flesh.

cold phlegm; wheezing and panting; malarial disease; intermittent dysentery; hemorrhoids; scrofula; galloping gān of the teeth and gums; sores and lichen (xiǎn); ulceration.

Notes: Crude arsenic is either red or white in color, referred to as 白砒 红砒 respectively. Nowadays, processed forms of arsenopyrite or realgar are often used as substitutes.

Product Description: This is arsenolyte ore, or nowadays processed arsenopyrite or realgar.

Quality: There are two forms, white and red. Red arsenic is most commonly used and is best mottled with white, yellow, and brown.

Product Area: Jiāngxī, Húnán, Guìzhōu, Guǎngdōng.

Etymology: The name pī shí 砒石, a stone that is as fierce as a 貔, a mythical bearlike beast.

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