Medicines which are supposed to be capable of facilitating the excretion
of mucus from the breast, _ex pectore_, that is, from the trachea, and
cells and passages of the lungs.
If the term _Expectorant_ be intended to express a medicinal substance
which has the power of promoting the expulsion of fluid from the lungs,
by some _specific action_ on the parts concerned, we can have no
hesitation in at once rejecting the word, and denying the existence of
such remedies: if, however the term be received, conventionally, as
comprehending all those substances which are capable, according to the
state of the system in each particular case, of producing expectoration,
it will be extremely proper to recognise, and practically useful to
retain, such a class of medicinal agents. In order that their _modus
operandi_ may be correctly understood, the following classification is
submitted to the reader.
* * * * *