The history of pharmacy as a modern and independent science dates back to the first third of the 19th century. Before then, pharmacy evolved from antiquity as part of medicine. The history of pharmacy coincides well with the history of medicine, but it's important that there is a distinction between the two topics. Pharmaceuticals is one of the most-researched fields in the academic industry, but the history surrounding that particular topic is sparse compared to the impact its made world-wide. Before the advent of pharmacists, there existed apothecaries that worked alongside priests and physicians in regard to patient care.
Paleopharmacological studies attest to the use of medicinal plants in pre-history. [1] [2] For example, herbs were discovered in the Shanidar Cave, and remains of the areca nut ( Areca catechu) in the Spirit Cave. [3] : 8 Prehistoric man learned pharmaceutical techniques through instinct, by watching birds and beasts, and using cool water, leaves, dirt, or mud as a soothing agent. [4]
Sumerian cuneiform tablets record prescriptions for medicine. [5] Ancient Egyptian pharmacological knowledge was recorded in various papyri, such as the Ebers Papyrus of 1550 BC and the Edwin Smith Papyrus of the 16th century BC.
The very beginnings of pharmaceutical texts were written on clay tablets by Mesopotamians. Some texts included formulas, instructions via pulverization, infusion, boiling, filtering and spreading; herbs were mentioned as well. [6] Babylon, a state within Mesopotamia, provided the earliest known practice of running an apothecary i.e. pharmacy. Alongside the ill person included a priest, physician, and a pharmacist to tend to their needs. [4]
In Ancient Greece, there existed a separation between physician and herbalist. The duties of the herbalist was to supply physicians with raw materials, including plants, to make medicines. [7] According to Edward Kremers and Glenn Sonnedecker, "before, during and after the time of Hippocrates there was a group of experts in medicinal plants. Probably the most important representative of these rhizotomoi was Diocles of Carystus (4th century BC). He is considered to be the source for all Greek pharmacotherapeutic treatises between the time of Theophrastus and Dioscorides." [8]
Between 60 and 78 AD, [3] : 21–22 the Greek physician Pedanius Dioscorides wrote a five-volume book, De materia medica , covering over 600 plants and coining the term materia medica . It formed the basis for many medieval texts, and was built upon by many Middle Eastern scientists during the Islamic Golden Age. [3] : 21–22
The earliest known Chinese manual on materia medica is the Shennong Ben Cao Jing (The Divine Farmer's Herb-Root Classic), dating back to the first century AD. It was compiled during the Han dynasty and was attributed to the mythical Shennong. Earlier literature included lists of prescriptions for specific ailments, exemplified by a manuscript "Recipes for 52 Ailments", found in the Mawangdui, sealed in 168 BC. Present-day Chinese pharmacy is a result of pharmaceutical exchanges between China and the rest of the world in the past centuries. [9]
The earliest known compilation of medicinal substances in Indian traditional medicine dates to the third or fourth century AD (attributed to Sushruta, who is recorded as a physician of the sixth century BC).
There is a stone sign for a pharmacy with a tripod, a mortar, and a pestle opposite one for a doctor in the Arcadian Way in Ephesus, Turkey.[ citation needed ]
In Japan, at the end of the Asuka period (538–710) and the early Nara period (710–794), the men who fulfilled roles similar to those of modern pharmacists were highly respected. The place of pharmacists in society was expressly defined in the Taihō Code (701) and re-stated in the Yōrō Code (718). Ranked positions in the pre-Heian Imperial court were established; and this organizational structure remained largely intact until the Meiji Restoration (1868). In this highly stable hierarchy, the pharmacists—and even pharmacist assistants—were assigned status superior to all others in health-related fields such as physicians and acupuncturists. In the Imperial household, the pharmacist was even ranked above the two personal physicians of the Emperor. [10]
In Baghdad the first pharmacies, or drug stores, were established in 754, [11] under the Abbasid Caliphate during the Islamic Golden Age. By the ninth century, these pharmacies were state-regulated. [12]
The advances made in the Middle East in botany and chemistry led medicine in medieval Islam substantially to develop pharmacology. Muhammad ibn Zakarīya Rāzi (Rhazes) (865–915), for instance, acted to promote the medical uses of chemical compounds. Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (Abulcasis) (936–1013) pioneered the preparation of medicines by sublimation and distillation. His Liber servitoris is of particular interest, as it provides the reader with recipes and explains how to prepare the "simples" from which were compounded the complex drugs then generally used. Shapur ibn Sahl (d. 869), was, however, the first physician to initiate a pharmacopoeia, describing a large variety of drugs and remedies for ailments. Al-Biruni (973–1050) wrote one of the most valuable Islamic works on pharmacology entitled Kitab al-Saydalah (The Book of Drugs), where he gave detailed knowledge of the properties of drugs and outlined the role of pharmacy and the functions and duties of the pharmacist.
Ibn Sina (Avicenna), too, described no less than 700 preparations, their properties, mode of action and their indications. He devoted in fact a whole volume to simple drugs in The Canon of Medicine . Of great impact were also the works by al-Maridini of Baghdad and Cairo, and Ibn al-Wafid (1008–1074), both of which were printed in Latin more than fifty times, appearing as De Medicinis universalibus et particularibus by 'Mesue' the younger, and the Medicamentis Simplicibus by 'Abenguefit'. Peter of Abano (1250–1316) translated and added a supplement to the work of al-Maridini under the title De Veneris. Al-Muwaffaq's contributions in the field are also pioneering. Living in the tenth century, he wrote The Foundations of the True Properties of Remedies, amongst others describing arsenious oxide, and being acquainted with silicic acid. He made clear distinction between sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate, and drew attention to the poisonous nature of copper compounds, especially copper vitriol, and also lead compounds. He also describes the distillation of sea-water for drinking. [13]
After the fifth century fall of the Western Roman Empire, medicinal knowledge in Europe suffered due to the loss of Greek medicinal texts and a strict adherence to tradition, although an area of Southern Italy near Salerno remained under Byzantine control and developed a hospital and medical school, which became famous by the 11th century. [3] : 30
In the early 11th century, Salerno scholar Constantinos Africanus translated many Arabic books into Latin, driving a shift from Hippocratic medicine towards a pharmaceutical-driven approach advocated by Galen. [3] : 30 In medieval Europe, monks typically did not speak Greek, leaving only Latin texts such as the works of Pliny available until these translations by Constantinos. [3] : 30 In addition, Arabic medicine became more widely known due to Muslim Spain. [3] : 30
In the 15th century, the printing press spread medicinal textbooks and formularies; the Antidotarium was the first printed drug formulary. [3] : 30
In Europe pharmacy-like shops began to appear during the 12th century. In 1240 emperor Frederic II issued a decree by which the physician's and the apothecary's professions were separated. [14]
Old pharmacies continue to operate in Dubrovnik, Croatia located inside the Franciscan monastery, opened in 1317[ citation needed ]. The Town Hall Pharmacy in Tallinn, Estonia, which dates back to at least 1422, is the oldest continuously run pharmacy in the world still operating in the original premises. [15]
The trend towards pharmacy specialization started to take effect in Bruges, Belgium where a new law was passed that forbid physicians to prepare medications for patients. [7]
The oldest pharmacy is claimed to be set up in 1221 in the Church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, Italy, which now houses a perfume museum. Florence is also the birthplace of the first official pharmacopeia, called the Nuevo Receptario, in which all pharmacies would use that document as guidance for caring for the sickly. [4]
The Royal College of Apothecaries of the City and Kingdom of Valencia was founded in 1441, considered the oldest in the world, with full administrative and legislative powers. The apothecaries of Valencia were the first in the world to elaborate their medicines, with the same criteria that are currently required in the official pharmacopoeias. [16]
The Republic of Venice was the first State with health modern policies which requires that the nature of the drug is public. In actuality, thirteen secrets survive which were offered to sale to the Venetian Republic. [17]
The 1800s brought increased technical sophistication. By the late 1880s, German dye manufacturers had perfected the purification of individual organic compounds from tar and other mineral sources and had also established rudimentary methods in organic chemical synthesis. [18]
Chloral hydrate was introduced as a sleeping aid and sedative in 1869. [19] Chloroform was first used as an anesthetic in 1847. [20]
Derivatives of phenothiazines had an important impact on various aspects of medicine, beginning with methylene blue which was originally used as a dye after its synthesis from aniline in 1876. [21] Phenothiazines were used as antimalarials, antiseptics, and antihelminthics up to 1940. [22] The "psychopharmacological revolution" began in 1950 when Chlorpromazine was discovered. [22]
The United States formed the American Pharmaceutical Association in 1852 [23] with its main purpose to advance pharmacists' roles in patient care, assist in furthering career development, spread information about tools and resources, and raising awareness about the roles of pharmacists and their contribution to patient care. [24]
Frederick Banting and Charles Best found the hormone insulin to lower blood sugar of dogs in 1921. This inspired further work by James Collip who developed pure insulin used for human testing and dramatically changed the prospects for all diabetics.
Alexander Fleming developed the first antibiotic, penicillin, after discovering a fungus that was able to kill off bacteria. [25]
Pedanius Dioscorides, "the father of pharmacognosy", was a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and author of De materia medica —a 5-volume Greek encyclopedia about herbal medicine and related medicinal substances, that was widely read for more than 1,500 years. For almost two millennia Dioscorides was regarded as the most prominent writer on plants and plant drugs.
Materia medica is a Latin term from the history of pharmacy for the body of collected knowledge about the therapeutic properties of any substance used for healing. The term derives from the title of a work by the Ancient Greek physician Pedanius Dioscorides in the 1st century AD, De materia medica, 'On medical material'.
Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links health sciences with pharmaceutical sciences and natural sciences. The professional practice is becoming more clinically oriented as most of the drugs are now manufactured by pharmaceutical industries. Based on the setting, pharmacy practice is either classified as community or institutional pharmacy. Providing direct patient care in the community of institutional pharmacies is considered clinical pharmacy.
A pharmacopoeia, pharmacopeia, or pharmacopoea, in its modern technical sense, is a book containing directions for the identification of compound medicines, and published by the authority of a government or a medical or pharmaceutical society.
Chinese herbology is the theory of traditional Chinese herbal therapy, which accounts for the majority of treatments in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). A Nature editorial described TCM as "fraught with pseudoscience", and said that the most obvious reason why it has not delivered many cures is that the majority of its treatments have no logical mechanism of action.
Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection against insects, fungi, diseases, and herbivorous mammals.
Apothecary is an archaic English term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica (medicine) to physicians, surgeons and patients. The modern terms 'pharmacist' and 'chemist' have taken over this role.
In the history of medicine, "Islamic medicine" is the science of medicine developed in the Middle East, and usually written in Arabic, the lingua franca of Islamic civilization.
Jonathan Pereira FRS was a pharmacologist, author of the Elements of Materia Medica, a standard work. He was examiner on the subject in the University of London.
Pharmacotherapy, also known as pharmacological therapy or drug therapy, is defined as medical treatment that utilizes one or more pharmaceutical drugs to improve ongoing symptoms, treat the underlying condition, or act as a prevention for other diseases (prophylaxis).
Diyāʾ al-Dīn Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad al-Mālaqī, commonly known as Ibn al-Bayṭār was an Andalusian Arab physician, botanist, pharmacist and scientist. His main contribution was to systematically record the additions made by Islamic physicians in the Middle Ages, which added between 300 and 400 types of medicine to the one thousand previously known since antiquity. He was a student of Abu al-Abbas al-Nabati.
A bimaristan or simply maristan,, known in Arabic also as dar al-shifa is a hospital in the historic Islamic world. It origins can be traced back to Sassanian Empire prior to the Muslim conquest of Persia.
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 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.
Pharmacy in China involves the activities engaged in the preparation, standardization and dispensing of drugs, and its scope includes the cultivation of plants that are used as drugs, the synthesis of chemical compounds of medicinal value, and the analysis of medicinal agents. Pharmacists in China are responsible for the preparation of the dosage forms of drugs, such as tablets, capsules, and sterile solutions for injection. They compound physicians', dentists', and veterinarians' prescriptions for drugs. Pharmacological activities are also closely related to pharmacy in China.
A show globe is a glass vessel of various shapes and sizes containing a colorful liquid. It has been a symbol of pharmacy from the 17th century England to the early 20th century in the United States. It marked the drugstore or apothecary in much the same way as the barber's pole marked tonsorial establishments in some countries. People who were illiterate needed such symbols to locate these medical practitioners.
The history of pharmacy in the United States is the story of a melting pot of new pharmaceutical ideas and innovations drawn from advancements that Europeans shared, Native American medicine and newly discovered medicinal plants in the New World. American pharmacy grew from this fertile mixture, and has impacted U.S. history, and the global course of pharmacy.
The history of medicinal cannabis goes back to the ancient times. Ancient physicians in many parts of the world mixed cannabis into medicines to treat pain and other ailments. In the 19th century, cannabis was introduced for therapeutic use in Western Medicine. Since then, there have been several advancements in how the drug is administered. Initially, cannabis was reduced to a powder and mixed with wine for administration. In the 1970s, synthetic THC was created to be administered as the drug Marinol in a capsule. However, the main mode of administration for cannabis is smoking because its effects are almost immediate when the smoke is inhaled. Between 1996 and 1999, eight U.S. states supported cannabis prescriptions opposing policies of the federal government. Most people who are prescribed marijuana for medical purposes use it to alleviate severe pain.
De materia medica is a pharmacopoeia of medicinal plants and the medicines that can be obtained from them. The five-volume work was written between 50 and 70 CE by Pedanius Dioscorides, a Greek physician in the Roman army. It was widely read for more than 1,500 years until supplanted by revised herbals in the Renaissance, making it one of the longest-lasting of all natural history and pharmacology books.
Muhammad ibn Sa'id al-Tamimi, , known by his kunya, "Abu Abdullah," but more commonly as Al-Tamimi, was a tenth-century physician, who came to renown on account of his medical works. Born in Jerusalem, Al-Tamimi spent his early years in and around Jerusalem where he studied medicine under the tutelage of two local physicians, Al-Hasan ibn Abi Nu'aym, and a Christian monk, Anba Zecharia ben Thawabah. Al-Tamimi possessed an uncommon knowledge of plants and their properties, such that his service in this field was highly coveted and brought him to serve as the personal physician of the Ikhshidid Governor of Ramla, al-Hassan bin Abdullah bin Tughj al-Mastouli, before being asked to render his services in Old Cairo, Egypt. Around 970, Al-Tamimi had settled in Old Cairo, Egypt, and there prospered in his medical field, writing a medical work for the vizier, Ya'qub ibn Killis (930–991), a Baghdadi Jew who came to work in Egypt under the auspices of the Fatimids. He specialized in compounding simple drugs and medicines, but is especially known for his having concocted a theriac reputed as a proven antidote in snakebite and other poisons, which he named tiryaq al-fārūq because of its exceptional qualities.
Efraim Lev is a professor in the Department of Israel Studies and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Haifa. He is the immediate past Head of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research of the Cairo Genizah at the University of Haifa, and the Department of Humanities and Arts at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. He also headed the Eshkol Department of Multi-Disciplinary Studies for special programs and undergraduate degrees in the University of Haifa’s Faculty of Humanities (2013-2018). Lev specializes in the history of medicine and pharmacology in the Middle East, in particular from the Middle Ages and the early modern period.
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