The Birth of Pharmacy in Ancient Times
"Hi! What can I do for you? I
smiled warmly through the glass windows of Walgreens at the driver who
had just pulled to a stop at the drive - through window.
"I need a prescription filled." His blue eyes looked at me intently and he grinned as he placed small sheet of paper along with an insurance card in the outstretched cubicle.
I entered his order in the computer. "Twenty minutes, sir, and I will have this ready for you."
I returned his insurance card and watched as he drove off. My mind wandered as his license plate tag faded into the distance. How did the practice of pharmacy become what it is today? When did
drive-through windows and twenty minute processing time become commonplace?
"Carol?" I jumped away from the window and turned to find Melinda, my boss gazing at me with concern. "Are you okay?" she asked.
I nodded at her sheepishly. "Yes, I was just, uh, wondering how pharmacy came to be practiced as it is today."
Melinda grinned at me. "That's wonderful. You know, I wrote about the history of pharmacy for my masters' thesis. I know a lot about
that subject."
"Really?" I looked at her excitedly. "Can you fill me in on how this pharmacy thing got started?"
Melinda looked around and then turned to face me again. "Sure! Its two in the morning. Not many customers at this hour." She took a deep breath. "Current practices of pharmacy can be traced back to the foundations laid in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Everything we know of ancient pharmacy can be largely found in the cuneiform tablets in Mesopotamia and the papyri found in Egypt. My thesis really focused on how modern education often teaches that medicine practices during that time were much more primitive than ours, that they were solely used in conjunction with magic and religious beliefs. However, my research pointed out that medicine was often viewed independently of religion. My thesis concluded that medicine was more often than not treated carefully and safely, and that many of the pharmaceutical practices actually reflected the advancement of ours today."
I listened attentively to her. "Tell me about the cuneiform tablets. I have heard that they were used in the ancient world to record information."
"Yes." She replied. "Much of the information we have on ancient pharmacy in Mesopotamia comes to us from cuneiform tablets found as early as 2000 BC. Within the cuneiform texts, we find record of some of the oldest prescriptions which, 'include about 250 vegetable and 120 minerals drugs, as well as alcoholic beverages, fats, and oils, parts and products of animals, honey, wax, and various kinds of milk thought to have medical virtues' (Magner, 19). Within these texts we find 'familiarity with fairly elaborate chemical operations for the purification of crude plant, animal, and mineral components' (Magner, 20). This indicates that medicines were carefully mixed and a wide variety of resources were used, not just herbs. The asu must have actually taken great care in their prescriptions of medicines."
"The asu?" I interjected, "that's an interesting title."
Melinda nodded. "The asu was 'a specialist in herbal remedies, and in other treatments of Mesopotamian medicine' (Medicine in Ancient Mesopotamia). An asu could diagnose as well as prescribe treatment for sicknesses. It is probable that our practices of bandaging and casts today come from the asu. The ashipu, was another 'healer', who specialized in diagnosing the disease or illness. Most often it seemed that the ashipu would refer the diseased patient to an asu for medicine. The most distinctive difference between the two was that the ashipu did occasionally attribute the illness in question to the retribution of a god punishing a patient for his or her sins. If the ashipu felt that this was the true cause of the sickness, he would then recant a spell or offer some sort of magic in an attempt to appease the god and dispel the disease. Often the ashipu held a duel occupation of both physician and priest. However, the fact that Mesopotamia had two distinct healers shows us that they did not believe that every sickness was rooted in religious punishment for past deeds. The ashipu sometimes saw god's punishment and other times recognized the natural causation. The asu saw the sickness as a product of natural causes and usually prescribed herbal drugs or some other practical medicine for treatment. If every ailment was believed to have been caused by the gods, there would have been no need for two distinct types of healers. Medicine in Mesopotamia was not always defined with religion."
"Wow! I had no idea." I grinned at Melinda. "Tell me more about what you concluded in your research. I have always assumed that ancient medicine was extremely primitive, but I am beginning to think that you do not agree with that at all."
"You are absolutely right. The fact that pharmacy was frequently practiced as its own subject is not the only indication in cuneiform texts that it was not so far behind us in advancement, unlike modern stereotypes would have us believe. For example, it has also been found that 'medicines are said to have been tested or discovered by unimpeachable authorities such as sages and experts' (Magner, 19). Today medicines have to go through rigorous testing to be approved by the FDA before they are legally allowed to be sold to the consumer. Research indicates that there might have been some sort of testing and approval process that medicines in ancient times went through. There also was in place a list of guidelines and punishments for those that did not follow the law in regards to proper pharmacy and medical practices in the 'most complete account of Babylonian law, the Code of Hammurabi ' (Magner, 20)"
"Really? That is unbelievable. That does not sound out of date with our times." I looked at her with disbelief. "Is Mesopotamia the only place with find records of pharmacy practiced in ancient times? They just don't teach you any of this in pharmacy tech school."
Melinda looked at me, pleased. "I'm glad you are recognizing all this. Our history of pharmacy can also be found in ancient Egypt. Some of the first records we find of medicine here reside in one of the papyri called the Ebers Medical Papyrus. If a man was sick to his stomach, the Papyrus defined his path to wellness again through 'figs roasted and moistened with fresh balanites-oil, raisin likewise, pignons likewise, are mixed together and eaten by a man in whose belly there is illness, and let him drink (something)' (The Papyrus Ebers). These records indicate that every physician or healer probably specialized in a particular part of the body, just as we have doctors who specialize in certain areas of the body today. We can find records of brain surgery, even of prostheses, which show medical advancement."
"What did these records mean to your research?" I asked.
Melinda continued. "While the pappyri do show a belief that 'thou hast saved me from everything bad and evil and vicious, from afflictions (caused) by a god or goddess' (The Papyrus Ebers), my thesis argued that the 'spells and stories about the healing acts of the gods were a source of comfort and hope which accompanied the administration of a remedy or the treatment of a wound' (Magner, 28). The spells and so called magical practices acted on sick patients should not always been seen as acts of dispelling evil spirits. Perhaps they were just used to bring comfort or peace to a patient. Even today, when a person is dying or sometimes even when they are simply ill, they will often call for a minister or look to a church for comfort."
"I never really thought of it like that." I stated quietly.
Melinda did not stop there. "We can also find in other records indications that Egyptians took preventive measures such as routine check ups in order to prevent future illness. Once again, if Egyptians solely thought that illness was a punishment of the gods, why would there be any attempt to try to prevent a sickness from breaking out? Punishment would be seen as inevitable. Sometimes, sickness was simply seen as a natural thing that occurred. My thesis concluded that many of our practices today, such as counting and testing medicine can be witnessed in history. Highly advanced practices, such as brain surgery and the placement of prostheses, were also practiced in ancient times. In addition, modern scholars often argue that magic and religion solely motivated the need for medicine and that natural medicine was always used in connection with spells and other rituals as a combined effort in healing, however ancient records show that this is not necessarily the case."
I looked at Melinda in amazement. I did not realize that I was so ignorant of the foundation of my own career. What happened next in the history of pharmacy that I don't know about?
Bibliography
Secondary Source
Magner, Lois N. A History of Medicine. (New York, Marcel Dekker, Inc.) 1992.
Watrall, Ethan and Mark Hays , "Medicine in Ancient Mesopotamia"The Asclepion. http://www.indiana.edu/~ancmed/meso.HTM
Primary Source
B. Ebbell, “The Papyrus Ebers”, The Greatest Egyptian Medical Document. http://www.macalester.edu/%7Ecuffel/ebers.htm.
Author's Note
My first secondary source, A History of Medicine, meets the criteria for guideline number three. The source is written by someone who can be named and author possesses obvious knowledge of the primary source within it.
My second secondary source, The Asclepion, also meets the criteria for guideline number three. The source is written by someone who can be named from a university and authors possess obvious knowledge of the primary source within it.
Image
Pharmacist preparing drugs (7th/13th century) From Dioscorides Materia Medica
Weblink: http://www.superluminal.com/cookbook/gallery_pharmacist.htm.
Sources Use
I used my sources in particular to back up my controversial claim that not all medical practices were related to magic and religion in ancient times. I mostly just quoted and cited my sources word for word.
Back to Project Page
Continue to Episode 2
Email Me
My Home Page
Created by - Amanda Marcott
"I need a prescription filled." His blue eyes looked at me intently and he grinned as he placed small sheet of paper along with an insurance card in the outstretched cubicle.
I entered his order in the computer. "Twenty minutes, sir, and I will have this ready for you."
I returned his insurance card and watched as he drove off. My mind wandered as his license plate tag faded into the distance. How did the practice of pharmacy become what it is today? When did
drive-through windows and twenty minute processing time become commonplace?
"Carol?" I jumped away from the window and turned to find Melinda, my boss gazing at me with concern. "Are you okay?" she asked.
I nodded at her sheepishly. "Yes, I was just, uh, wondering how pharmacy came to be practiced as it is today."
Melinda grinned at me. "That's wonderful. You know, I wrote about the history of pharmacy for my masters' thesis. I know a lot about
that subject."
"Really?" I looked at her excitedly. "Can you fill me in on how this pharmacy thing got started?"
Melinda looked around and then turned to face me again. "Sure! Its two in the morning. Not many customers at this hour." She took a deep breath. "Current practices of pharmacy can be traced back to the foundations laid in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Everything we know of ancient pharmacy can be largely found in the cuneiform tablets in Mesopotamia and the papyri found in Egypt. My thesis really focused on how modern education often teaches that medicine practices during that time were much more primitive than ours, that they were solely used in conjunction with magic and religious beliefs. However, my research pointed out that medicine was often viewed independently of religion. My thesis concluded that medicine was more often than not treated carefully and safely, and that many of the pharmaceutical practices actually reflected the advancement of ours today."
I listened attentively to her. "Tell me about the cuneiform tablets. I have heard that they were used in the ancient world to record information."
"Yes." She replied. "Much of the information we have on ancient pharmacy in Mesopotamia comes to us from cuneiform tablets found as early as 2000 BC. Within the cuneiform texts, we find record of some of the oldest prescriptions which, 'include about 250 vegetable and 120 minerals drugs, as well as alcoholic beverages, fats, and oils, parts and products of animals, honey, wax, and various kinds of milk thought to have medical virtues' (Magner, 19). Within these texts we find 'familiarity with fairly elaborate chemical operations for the purification of crude plant, animal, and mineral components' (Magner, 20). This indicates that medicines were carefully mixed and a wide variety of resources were used, not just herbs. The asu must have actually taken great care in their prescriptions of medicines."
"The asu?" I interjected, "that's an interesting title."
Melinda nodded. "The asu was 'a specialist in herbal remedies, and in other treatments of Mesopotamian medicine' (Medicine in Ancient Mesopotamia). An asu could diagnose as well as prescribe treatment for sicknesses. It is probable that our practices of bandaging and casts today come from the asu. The ashipu, was another 'healer', who specialized in diagnosing the disease or illness. Most often it seemed that the ashipu would refer the diseased patient to an asu for medicine. The most distinctive difference between the two was that the ashipu did occasionally attribute the illness in question to the retribution of a god punishing a patient for his or her sins. If the ashipu felt that this was the true cause of the sickness, he would then recant a spell or offer some sort of magic in an attempt to appease the god and dispel the disease. Often the ashipu held a duel occupation of both physician and priest. However, the fact that Mesopotamia had two distinct healers shows us that they did not believe that every sickness was rooted in religious punishment for past deeds. The ashipu sometimes saw god's punishment and other times recognized the natural causation. The asu saw the sickness as a product of natural causes and usually prescribed herbal drugs or some other practical medicine for treatment. If every ailment was believed to have been caused by the gods, there would have been no need for two distinct types of healers. Medicine in Mesopotamia was not always defined with religion."
"Wow! I had no idea." I grinned at Melinda. "Tell me more about what you concluded in your research. I have always assumed that ancient medicine was extremely primitive, but I am beginning to think that you do not agree with that at all."
"You are absolutely right. The fact that pharmacy was frequently practiced as its own subject is not the only indication in cuneiform texts that it was not so far behind us in advancement, unlike modern stereotypes would have us believe. For example, it has also been found that 'medicines are said to have been tested or discovered by unimpeachable authorities such as sages and experts' (Magner, 19). Today medicines have to go through rigorous testing to be approved by the FDA before they are legally allowed to be sold to the consumer. Research indicates that there might have been some sort of testing and approval process that medicines in ancient times went through. There also was in place a list of guidelines and punishments for those that did not follow the law in regards to proper pharmacy and medical practices in the 'most complete account of Babylonian law, the Code of Hammurabi ' (Magner, 20)"
"Really? That is unbelievable. That does not sound out of date with our times." I looked at her with disbelief. "Is Mesopotamia the only place with find records of pharmacy practiced in ancient times? They just don't teach you any of this in pharmacy tech school."
Melinda looked at me, pleased. "I'm glad you are recognizing all this. Our history of pharmacy can also be found in ancient Egypt. Some of the first records we find of medicine here reside in one of the papyri called the Ebers Medical Papyrus. If a man was sick to his stomach, the Papyrus defined his path to wellness again through 'figs roasted and moistened with fresh balanites-oil, raisin likewise, pignons likewise, are mixed together and eaten by a man in whose belly there is illness, and let him drink (something)' (The Papyrus Ebers). These records indicate that every physician or healer probably specialized in a particular part of the body, just as we have doctors who specialize in certain areas of the body today. We can find records of brain surgery, even of prostheses, which show medical advancement."
"What did these records mean to your research?" I asked.
Melinda continued. "While the pappyri do show a belief that 'thou hast saved me from everything bad and evil and vicious, from afflictions (caused) by a god or goddess' (The Papyrus Ebers), my thesis argued that the 'spells and stories about the healing acts of the gods were a source of comfort and hope which accompanied the administration of a remedy or the treatment of a wound' (Magner, 28). The spells and so called magical practices acted on sick patients should not always been seen as acts of dispelling evil spirits. Perhaps they were just used to bring comfort or peace to a patient. Even today, when a person is dying or sometimes even when they are simply ill, they will often call for a minister or look to a church for comfort."
"I never really thought of it like that." I stated quietly.
Melinda did not stop there. "We can also find in other records indications that Egyptians took preventive measures such as routine check ups in order to prevent future illness. Once again, if Egyptians solely thought that illness was a punishment of the gods, why would there be any attempt to try to prevent a sickness from breaking out? Punishment would be seen as inevitable. Sometimes, sickness was simply seen as a natural thing that occurred. My thesis concluded that many of our practices today, such as counting and testing medicine can be witnessed in history. Highly advanced practices, such as brain surgery and the placement of prostheses, were also practiced in ancient times. In addition, modern scholars often argue that magic and religion solely motivated the need for medicine and that natural medicine was always used in connection with spells and other rituals as a combined effort in healing, however ancient records show that this is not necessarily the case."
I looked at Melinda in amazement. I did not realize that I was so ignorant of the foundation of my own career. What happened next in the history of pharmacy that I don't know about?
Bibliography
Secondary Source
Magner, Lois N. A History of Medicine. (New York, Marcel Dekker, Inc.) 1992.
Watrall, Ethan and Mark Hays , "Medicine in Ancient Mesopotamia"The Asclepion. http://www.indiana.edu/~ancmed/meso.HTM
Primary Source
B. Ebbell, “The Papyrus Ebers”, The Greatest Egyptian Medical Document. http://www.macalester.edu/%7Ecuffel/ebers.htm.
Author's Note
My first secondary source, A History of Medicine, meets the criteria for guideline number three. The source is written by someone who can be named and author possesses obvious knowledge of the primary source within it.
My second secondary source, The Asclepion, also meets the criteria for guideline number three. The source is written by someone who can be named from a university and authors possess obvious knowledge of the primary source within it.
Image
Pharmacist preparing drugs (7th/13th century) From Dioscorides Materia Medica
Weblink: http://www.superluminal.com/cookbook/gallery_pharmacist.htm.
Sources Use
I used my sources in particular to back up my controversial claim that not all medical practices were related to magic and religion in ancient times. I mostly just quoted and cited my sources word for word.
Back to Project Page
Continue to Episode 2
Email Me
My Home Page
Created by - Amanda Marcott