Table Of ContentA Brief History of Pharmacy
Pharmacy has become an integral part of our lives. Nearly half of all 300
million Americans take at least one prescription drug daily, accounting for
$250 billion per year in sales in the US alone. And this number doesn’t even
include the over-the-counter medications or health aids that are taken. How
did this practice become such an essential part of our lives and our health?
A Brief History of Pharmacy: Humanity’s Search for Wellness aims to answer
that question. As this short overview of the practice shows, the search for well-
being through the ingestion or application of natural products and artificially
derived compounds is as old as humanity itself. From the Mesopotamians to
the corner drug store, Bob Zebroski describes how treatments were sought,
highlights some of the main victories of each time period, and shows how we
came to be people who rely on drugs to feel better, to live longer, and look
younger. This accessible survey of pharmaceutical history is essential reading
for all students of pharmacy.
Bob Zebroski is Professor of History and Chairperson of the Liberal Arts
Department at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy, one of the largest and old-
est schools of pharmacy in the US, which just celebrated its sesquicentennial
anniversary.
A Brief History of Pharmacy
Humanity’s Search for Wellness
Bob Zebroski
First published 2016
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2016 Taylor & Francis
The right of Bob Zebroski to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without
intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Zebroski, Bob.
A brief history of pharmacy: humanity’s search for wellness / Bob Zebroski.
pages cm
Includes index.
1. Pharmacy—History. I. Title.
RS61.Z47 2015
615.1—dc23
2015009903
ISBN: 978-0-415-53783-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-53784-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-68583-0 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon, UK
“Time and history tells and shows all—where we have
been and where we might go. It provides insight to our-
selves, other people and the world in which we live. For
us it can provide the opportunity to judge our actions
and motivations and perhaps give us a glance into the
future. Retrospect for prophecy. It is crucial in giving
us a sense of self.”
John Klemmer
Contents
List of Figures ix
List of Tables x
Introduction: The Essentials of Pharmacy 1
1 Prehistoric Pharmacy: From Stones and Bones to
Weeds and Seeds 6
2 Ancient Pharmacy in the River Civilizations of Mesopotamia
and Egypt 15
3 Pharmacy and Medicine in the River Civilizations of the
East: Ancient India and China 30
4 Pharmacy in Ancient Greece and Rome 48
5 Medieval Pharmacy in the West: Pharmacy in an Age of
Faith (Dogma and Authority) 65
6 Medieval Arab and Islamic Pharmacy 76
7 Pharmacy During the European Renaissance and
Early Modern Era 87
8 Eighteenth- and Early Nineteenth-Century Pharmacy: From
Apothecary to Chemist to Pharmacist 104
9 Colonial and Early American Pharmacy 112
10 The Era of Alternative and Patent Medicine 127
viii Contents
11 American Pharmacy Organizes and Promotes a New Vision
for the Practice of Pharmacy 146
12 Learning How to Learn—From Apprenticeship to the
Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.): The Struggle for
Professional Recognition 160
13 The Origin and Growth of the Pharmaceutical Industry:
From Terra Sigillata to Viagra 181
14 The Emergence of an American Institution: From the
Corner Pharmacy to the Chain Drugstore, to the
Big Box Department Store Pharmacy 195
15 The Impact of Federal Legislation on the Practice of
Pharmacy 208
16 Hospital Pharmacy and the Rise of Clinical Pharmacy in
the United States 229
Index 240
Figures
1.1 Picture of Ötzi 8
1.2 Trepanned Skull 11
2.1 Augury Tablet 18
2.2 The World’s Oldest Rx 20
2.3 Statue of Imhotep 22
3.1 Susruta 35
3.2 The Five Elements of Chinese Medicine 38
3.3 Shen-nung 39
4.1 Asclepius 50
4.2 Diagram of the Four Humors 51
4.3 Theophrastus 53
4.4 King Mithridates VI of Pontus 55
4.5 Terra Sigillata 56
6.1 Avicenna 80
7.1 Paracelsus 89
7.2 Nicholas Culpeper 96
8.1 F.W.A. Serturner 108
9.1 Christopher Marshall 116
9.2 John Morgan 117
10.1 Samuel Thomson 130
11.1 William Procter, Jr. 151
12.1 Edward Parrish 165
12.2 Albert Benjamin Prescott 168
15.1 Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley 211
15.2 Carl Durham 217
15.3 Dr. Frances O. Kelsey 221
16.1 Donald Crum Brodie 234
