<P> The apothecaries' system or apothecaries' weights and measures is a historical system of mass and volume units that were used by physicians and apothecaries for medical recipes, and also sometimes by scientists . The English version of the system is closely related to the English troy system of weights, the pound and grain being exactly the same in both . It divides a pound into 12 ounces, an ounce into 8 drachms, and a drachm into 3 scruples or 60 grains . This exact form of the system was used in the United Kingdom; in some of its former colonies it survived well into the 20th century . The apothecaries' system of measures is a similar system of volume units based on the fluid ounce . For a long time, medical recipes were written in Latin, often using special symbols to denote weights and measures . </P> <P> The use of different measure and weight systems depending on the purpose was an almost universal phenomenon in Europe between the decline of the Roman Empire and metrication . This was connected with international commerce, especially with the need to use the standards of the target market and to compensate for a common weighing practice that caused a difference between actual and nominal weight . In the 19th century, most European countries or cities still had at least a "commercial" or "civil" system (such as the English avoirdupois system) for general trading, and a second system (such as the troy system) for precious metals such as gold and silver . The system for precious metals was usually divided in a different way from the commercial system, often using special units such as the carat . More significantly, it was often based on different weight standards . </P>

What are the units of the apothecary system
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