Apothecary
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Apothecary (pronounced /ə.pɔð.ɪ.kɛɹ.i/ or ah-POTH-i-kerry) is an historical name for a medical practitioner who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist.
In addition to pharmacy the apothecary also offered general medical advice and a range of services that are now performed solely by other specialist practitioners, such as surgery and midwifery. Apothecaries often operated through a retail shop, which in addition to ingredients for medicines, would also sell tobacco and patent medicines.
In its investigation of herbal and chemical ingredients, the work of the apothecary may be regarded as a precursor of the modern sciences of chemistry and pharmacology, prior to the formulation of the scientific method.
From the 15th century the apothecary gained the status of a skilled practitioner, but by the end of the 19th century the medical professions had taken on their current institutional form, with defined roles for doctors and surgeons, and the role of the apothecary was more narrowly conceived as that of dispensing pharmacist.
In England, the apothecaries merited their own livery company, the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries, founded in 1617. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson became the first woman to gain a medical qualification in Britain when she passed the Society's examination in 1865.
Apothecaries used the now obsolete apothecaries' measure to provide precise weighing of small quantities.
The word Apothecary is still used in modern times, in Sweden the pharmacies are heavily regulated and driven in a monopoly fashion. These are called Apotek
Noted apothecaries
- Nicholas Culpeper
- Dante Alighieri - non-practising, he entered the Florentine apothecaries guild for political reasons.
- Benedict Arnold
- Nostradamus
- Colonel Blood - the man who attempted to steal the English Crown Jewels, ran an apothecary's shop in Romford, Essex.
- Raeapteek
- John DeRosa
See also
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
