Cantharis

Can´tha`ris

(kăn´thå`rĭs)

(Zool.) A beetle (Lytta vesicatoria, syn. Cantharis vesicatoria), having an elongated cylindrical body of a brilliant green color, and a nauseous odor; the blister fly or blister beetle, of the apothecary; - also called Spanish fly. Many other species of Lytta, used for the same purpose, take the same name. See Blister beetle, under Blister. The plural form in usually applied to the dried insects used in medicine.

Cantharis

enUK

can·tha·ris

, gen.

can·thar·i·dis

, pl.

can·thar·i·des

(kan'thar-is, kan-thar'i-dis, -dēz), A dried beetle, Lytta (Cantharis) vesicatoria, used as a counterirritant and vesicant. Synonym(s): Russian fly, Spanish fly [L., fr. G. kantharis, a beetle]

Cantharis

Homeopathy
A homeopathic remedy for acute cystitis, baldness, colic, tonsillitis, hypersexuality and emotional lability.

Toxicity
• Topical—Cantharis causes erythema, urticaria and vesiculation.
• Oral—GI irritation, nausea and vomiting, diarrhoea, cramping and collapse; as little as 60 mg of this highly nephrotoxic agent may be fatal; active component is cantharidin, a rubifacient.

Cantharis

(kan'tha-ris) A genus of beetles, C. vesicatoria, known as Spanish fly. See: cantharides