A pill is a small, round, solid pharmacological oral dosage form in use before the advent of tablets and capsules. Pills were made by mixing the active ingredients with an excipient such as glucose syrup in a mortar and pestle to form a paste, then rolling the mass into a long cylindrical shape (called a "pipe"), and dividing it into equal portions, which were then rolled into balls, and often coated with sugar to make them more palatable.[1]
In colloquial usage, tablets, capsules, and caplets are still often referred to as "pills" collectively.
See also
References
- ^ 1918 US dispensatory article
External links
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