Mummia , mumia , or originally mummy referred to several different preparations in the history of medicine , from "mineral pitch " to "powdered human mummies ". It originated from Arabic mūmiyā "a type of resinous bitumen found in Western Asia and used curatively" in traditional Islamic medicine , which was translated as pissasphaltus (from "pitch" and "asphalt") in ancient Greek medicine . In medieval European medicine , mūmiyā "bitumen" was transliterated into Latin as mumia meaning both "a bituminous medicine from Persia" and "mummy". Merchants in apothecaries dispensed expensive mummia bitumen, which was thought to be an effective cure-all for many ailments. It was also used as an aphrodisiac .
