pašāšu (ŠEŠ₂, EŠ) "to smear": pašāšu is one of the most common verbs in the therapeutic corpus and describes the external application of medicaments in the form of ointments and salves. The process leading up to the point where the physician anoints the patient, usually includes extracting the healing properties from the active ingredients by crushing or pounding, which are then combined with a liquid carrier substance. The texts frequently mention oil or some other viscous liquid as carrier substance, giving the resulting mixture the right consistency so it can be applied as ointment. Sometimes anointing the patient with oil alone constitutes an intermediate step in the healing process: see, for instance, the prescription recorded in Cranium 1, BAM 480+ iv 25, according to which the physician was supposed to anoint the patient with oil first, and only after was he allowed to apply a dough-like mixture as bandage.
[1] Cranium 1, BAM 480+ iv 25: you knead [... in the sap] of kasû-tamarind, you anoint him with oil, (and then) you bandage him (with the mixture)
[1] Eyes 2, BAM 515+ ii 7: you pound a raven's egg, [(...)] afterwards you remove (it), and smear ghee on a bronze knife
[2] Eyes 3, BAM 516 i 64′: you put (them) in sesame oil, you smear his eyes (with it)
[3] Ears, BAM 503+ i 27′: you mix them in cedar oil, you place (the mixture) into his ears (and) you smear it onto his (ears) flesh.
[4] Teeth 1, BAM 538+ ii 51′: alternatively, you pound atāʾišu-plant (and) smear it on the crown of his tooth
[5] Bronchia 4, AMT 45/4+ i 23′: you bathe him within, you anoint him with oil
[6] Stomach 1, BAM 574+ ii 57: its ritual: you dry (and) pound 'dog's tongue' plant, you put it in oil, you recite the incantation (over the mixture), you anoint him with it, and then he will get better