Apothecary container for dried centipedes

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The wooden apothecary vessel dates back to the 18th century. There is a small signboard on the vessel with the legend specifying the contents: MILLEP(EDES). It is a type of dried crustaceans of the order Isopoda, with the name “centipedes” attached to them in Polish (despite them being phylogenetically nowhere near Myriapods). It was recommended mainly in whooping cough and the so-called hydrops (a historical medical term for the symptom of accumulating excessive amounts of fluid in the tissues and natural cavities of the body), which can possibly be considered a synonym of generalized oedema (Latin anasarca). ID no.: KGZ 2316 Time of creation: 18th century, 19th century Museum: The Museum of Pharmacy at the Jagiellonian University Medical College in Kraków http://muzea.malopolska.pl/en/o-nas Digitalisation: RDW MIC, Virtual Małopolska project