History of pharmacology

• Pharmacology

The word “pharmacology” originates from two Greek terms: “pharmakon,” meaning drug or medicine, and “logos,” meaning study or science.

Definition

Pharmacology is the branch of science concerned with the study of drug actions on living organisms. It serves as a vital link between basic medical science and clinical practice, helping us understand how drugs work and how they can be used safely and effectively.

Pharmacology encompasses a wide range of topics, including:

• Physical and chemical properties of drugs.
• Biochemical and physiological effects on the body.
• Mechanisms of action, explaining how drugs produce their effects.
• Therapeutic uses in disease prevention and treatment.
• Adverse or toxic effects, guiding safe and rational drug use.

Drug

Any chemical substance that alters one or more functions of a living organism when administered in an appropriate dose.

Early history

Knowledge of drugs and their uses is as old as human civilization. Primitive people learned healing by observing nature, watching sick animals, and experimenting with plants, herbs, and minerals as remedies. Ancient civilizations recognized that extracts from plants, animals, and minerals could relieve symptoms or cure disease, forming the early foundation of pharmacology.

Key historical milestones

• 2700 BC: “Pen Ts’ao” in China, a classic herbal text describing many medicinal plants.
• 2000–1550 BC: Egyptian papyri such as the Kahun Papyrus (veterinary and gynecologic remedies) and Ebers Papyrus (hundreds of prescriptions, including castor oil and opium-like drugs).
• Hippocrates (460–375 BC): Greek “father of medicine”; viewed disease as a natural disturbance of body functions and used simple drugs, including metallic salts.
• Theophrastus (380–287 BC): “Father of pharmacognosy”; classified medicinal plants based on observable characteristics.
• Dioscorides (AD 57): Compiled an early materia medica of about 500 plants and remedies.
• Galen (AD 129–200): Linked drug preparation and theory, leading to “Galenical” formulations.
• Paracelsus (1493–1541): Emphasized chemicals as medicines and the idea that dose determines whether a substance is a poison or a remedy.
• Valerius Cordus (1514–1544): Compiled one of the first pharmacopeias describing drug preparations.

Rise of modern pharmacology

Modern pharmacology developed with animal experimentation and the isolation of pure active principles from plants. Frederich Sertürner isolated morphine from opium in 1805, the first pure drug obtained from a natural source. Francois Magendie (1783–1855) used experiments to clarify how drugs affect physiological processes. Rudolph Buchheim (1820–1879) created the first pharmacology institute and helped establish the discipline on a scientific basis. Claude Bernard (1813–1878) is famed for experimental medicine and identifying the site of action of curare. Oswald Schmiedeberg (1838–1921) is often called the father of pharmacology for building pharmacology as an independent academic subject. John Jacob Abel (1857–1938) founded leading pharmacology departments in the USA and co-founded the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, while L. Meyer Jones (1912–2002) was a pioneer of modern veterinary pharmacology.