Thomas of Cantimpré [circa 1200-1272 CE] (Liber de natura rerum, Quadrupeds 4.73): The musquelibet, as Platearius [Matthaeus Platearius, Circa instans] says, is about the size of a roe deer, in whose groin an abscess grows from the accumulated fluids. When it is ripe, the animal beats and rubs it against a tree, by which the abscess is loosened, and the sap runs down and condenses there and hardens, and this substance is called musk, which is certainly the most valuable and more aromatic of all the aromatic species. All its flesh, or even dung, is called musk; but the sap from the abscess is much better. The musk regains its power by losing its scent in the stench of sewage; for he wrestles against the stench, and thus revives as if by struggle. It is effective against syncope and weakness of the heart, brain, liver and stomach. - [Badke translation/paraphrase]