trituration

trituration

A pharmacist performs trituration of a medicinal powder using a mortar and pestle.

Definition
  1. Noun:
    • The act or process of grinding or reducing a substance to a fine powder: "trituration" refers to the mechanical action of crushing, rubbing, or pulverizing a material into very small particles, often in a mortar with a pestle.
    • A product obtained by trituration: In pharmacy, "trituration" can also mean the resulting fine powder or mixture produced by this grinding process, especially when mixing a potent drug with a diluent.
Usage Examples
  • Noun:
    • The pharmacist performed a careful trituration of the medicinal herbs to ensure a uniform powder. (The act of grinding the herbs into a fine, consistent powder.)
    • This trituration contains one part of the active ingredient to ten parts of lactose. (The resulting mixture after grinding, used as a diluted preparation.)
Advanced Usage

  • "Trituration" in homeopathy: A specific method of preparing remedies by repeatedly grinding and diluting a substance with lactose, often carried out in a series of steps.

    • The homeopath prepared a 1:100 trituration of the mineral for the patient. (A diluted powder made by grinding the mineral with lactose in a precise ratio.)

  • "Trituration" in chemistry: A laboratory technique for reducing solid samples to a fine state for analysis or reaction.

    • The technician used trituration to homogenize the ore sample before testing. (Grinding to ensure uniform composition.)
Variants and Related Words

  • Triturate (verb): to grind or reduce to a fine powder.

    • She triturated the dried roots with a mortar and pestle. (She ground them into a powder.)

  • Triturable (adj): capable of being triturated.

    • This crystalline substance is easily triturable. (It can be ground into a fine powder.)
Synonyms
  • Pulverization: the process of crushing into dust or powder.
  • Comminution: the reduction of solid materials to smaller pieces or particles.
  • Levigation: grinding a substance with a liquid to produce a fine paste or powder.
Related Idioms
  • No common idioms are associated with "trituration," as it is a technical term used primarily in pharmacy, chemistry, and homeopathy.