Gum anima, or anima, in

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...

, is a kind of gum or resin, of which there are two kinds, western and eastern. The first flows from an incision in a tree around Central America, called '' Courbati''; it is transparent, and of a color similar to

frankincense Frankincense (also known as olibanum) is an aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes, obtained from trees of the genus ''Boswellia'' in the family Burseraceae. The word is from Old French ('high-quality incense'). There are several species o ...

. The eastern gum anima is distinguished into three kinds: the first white; the second blackish, in some respects like

myrrh Myrrh (; from Semitic, but see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a number of small, thorny tree species of the genus ''Commiphora''. Myrrh resin has been used throughout history as a perfume, incense and medicine. Myrrh mi ...

; the third pale, resinous, and dry. All the several kinds of anima have been used in perfumes, by reason of their agreeable smell; they have also been applied externally against colds.

References

Natural gums Perfumery Resins Traditional medicine {{treatment-stub