A
pill was originally defined as a small, round, solid
pharmaceutical oral dosage form of medication that was in use before the advent of
tablets and
capsules. Pills were made by mixing the active ingredients with an
excipient such as
glucose syrup in a
mortar and pestle to form a paste, then rolling the mass into a long cylindrical shape (called a "pipe"), and dividing it into equal portions, which were then rolled into balls, and often coated with sugar to make them more palatable.