Lebanese International University School of Pharmacy Pharmacy Practice Department PHAR250 - Pharmacy History, Practice and Ethics Spring Semester, 2024 - 2025 1 Part I: Pharmacy History Pharmacy in Ancient Civilizations: Ancient Greece School of Pharmacy Lebanese International University PHAR250 – Pharmacy History, Practice and Ethics 2 Part I: Pharmacy History 1. Prehistoric Pharmacy 2. Pharmacy in Ancient Civilizations: A. Ancient Babylonia B. Ancient Egypt C. Ancient Greece D. Ancient Rome E. Middle Ages: The Arabs F. Renaissance G. Early Modern Europe 3. Pharmacy Today: American Pharmacy 3 4 Ancient Greece • Ancient Greece was a powerful civilization, dominating a large area in the Mediterranean region • Ancient Greece was divided into several small city - states that were united under Alexander the Great, who expanded Greece's influence over Europe and Western Asia. • Greek culture, particularly in the field of medicine, had a significant impact and is widely recognized as the origin of Western civilization. Ancient Greece 5 Two crucial factors encouraged the ancient Greeks to seek healing and promote health: 1 - Military activity During wars, doctors were responsible for treating injuries, removing foreign objects from wounds, and taking care of the overall well - being of soldiers. 2 - Sport The Olympic Games , which began in ancient Greece, raised the need for people to keep healthy in order to promote fitness and prevent injury. 6 Ancient Greece • Similar to Egypt, medical practices in ancient Greece were initially influenced by religious beliefs • Diseases were often seen as punishments from the Gods, and healing was a gift from them. • Asclepius was the ancient Greek god of medicine He carried a “rod” that is a universal symbol for medicine to this day ( one snake with no wings ) • The Greeks built Asklepions , which were healing centers that included a temple and sleeping areas for patients. • To receive treatment at the Asklepion, a patient must: The Rod of Asclepius 1. Make sacrifices 2. Bath 3. Sleep in the courtyard Ancient Greece Hygeia , the daughter of Asclepius, was the goddess of hygiene and sanitation. o Her name has been associated with the word “hygiene” o She carried a magical serpent and a bowl of healing medicine ( International symbol of Pharmacy ) Hygeia 7 Asklepion 8 Ancient Greece • In the 5th century BCE, there was a shift in ancient Greek medicine from a religious field based on divine intervention to a field that used scientific methods to explore the connection between symptoms and diseases, as well as evaluate the efficacy of various treatments ➔ Greek physicians were the first to consider that illnesses had natural causes • Greek doctors gained knowledge of human anatomy through the examination of wounded soldiers and the dissection of animals • This led to two discoveries: o The brain controls the movement of limbs, not the heart o Blood moves through the veins. Ancient Greece - Contributors • 1. Theophrastus: ✔ A Greek philosopher who was the outstanding student of Aristotle ✔ He was considered the “ Father of Botany ” for his work on plants ✔ His two surviving botanical works were an important influence on Renaissance science 1. “ Historia Plantarum” ( Enquiry into Plants ): Originally ten books, of which nine survive 2. “ De causis plantarum ” ( On the Causes of Plants ): Originally eight books, of which six survive 9 Ancient Greece - Contributors • 2. Dioscorides : ✔ A Greek physician, pharmacologist, and botanist who copied the method of Theophrastus ✔ He was considered the “ Father of Pharmacognosy ” 10 ✓ Author of “ De materia medica ” ( On Medical Material ): A 5 - volume Greek encyclopedia about herbal medicine and related medicinal substances ➔ Became the standard encyclopedia of drugs for hundreds of years to follow Ancient Greece - Contributors • 3. Hippocrates: ✔ An ancient Greek physician known as the " Father of Medicine " ✔ He was recognized as the first to propose that diseases were caused by natural factors, not superstition or gods ✔ He founded the first medical school , which was the primary institution separating medicine from philosophy and religion. ✔ His approach to medicine focused on observing, documenting, and using evidence - based knowledge ➔ Applying logic to practice, making medicine a science 11 Ancient Greece - Contributors • Hippocrates: ✔ Among the treatises of the Corpus is “The Hippocratic Oath” ❑ It was a religious document ensuring a doctor operated within and for community values ❑ With the Oath, the practitioner swore by Apollo, Hygeia and Panacea to respect their teacher and not to administer poison, abuse patients in any way, use a knife or break the confidentiality between patient and doctor 12 ✓ He wrote the Hippocratic collection, which summarised his studies and beliefs about medicine referred to as the “ Hippocratic Corpus ” ( Corpus Hippocraticum ) Ancient Greece - Contributors • Hippocrates : The Theory of The Four Humours ▪ The Theory of the Four Humours was first developed by Hippocrates ▪ According to this theory , the human body is made up of four fluids or humours : phlegm, blood, yellow bile, and black bile. ▪ Good health depended on the balance between these four fluids ▪ If the individual had an illness, it was either because of too little or too much of one of the humours ➔ Changed constantly due to the diet and environment 13 14 Ancient Greece - Contributors • Hippocrates : The Theory of The Four Humours ▪ The four humours were believed to exist in cycles according to the seasons and natural elements (water, earth, fire, and air) Blood Yellow Bile Phlegm Black Bile o Yellow Bile = Fire = Summer o Black Bile = Earth = Autumn o Phlegm = Water = Winter o Blood = Air = Spring Ancient Greece - Contributors 15 ▪ 4. Claudius Galenus (Galen): ✔ A prominent Greek physician, surgeon, and philosopher in the Roman Empire ✔ He brought back the concepts of Hippocrates and used observation, reasoning, and experimentation in his studies ✔ He was the first to identify the physiological difference between veins and arteries and that arteries carry blood and not oxygen ✔ Galen was the first physician to use the pulse as a sign of illness ✔ Galen believed that anatomy was the basis of medical understanding, so he often performed dissections and conducted experiments on animals Ancient Greece - Contributors 16 ▪ Claudius Galenus (Galen): ✔ Galen acknowledged Hippocrates' theory of the "Humors" and introduced his own theory of four temperaments believing that correcting the imbalance of these humors makes one recover from illness ✔ It was the main reason why he performed bloodletting to treat his patients. ✔ Another of Galen’s contributions is a book that addressed how to approach and cure psychological issues . This was Galen's initial attempt into what became known as psychotherapy He wrote a short essay called " The Best Doctor Is Also A Philosopher ” that emphasized the importance of physicians knowing not only the physical aspects but also logical and ethical philosophy. 17 Claudius Galenus (Galen): Galen believed that the humours could be balanced using the theory of opposites ➔ Drugs of the opposite nature were given to treat an external inflammation Ancient Greece - Contributors • In the winter, illnesses were attributed to an imbalance in phlegm , causing respiratory and chest problems ➔ To counter the over - saturation of phlegm, hot substances were used • During the summer, a sickness was linked to yellow bile , causing fever, irritability, liver problems, and more ➔ cold remedies were employed • Blood was associated with moisture and warmth, and having too much blood led to redness and sweating ➔ Bloodletting , achieved by cutting the skin or using leeches, was done Ancient Greece - Contributors • Agnodice : ✔ In ancient Greece, women were not allowed to become doctors or practice medicine ✔ Agnodice was a woman who disguised herself as a man to study medicine and become a doctor ✔ She was discovered and placed on trial; however, laws were changed, and she went on to become a well - respected doctor in Athens 18 Agnodice , the first female midwife in ancient Athens Lebanese International University School of Pharmacy Pharmacy Practice Department PHAR250 - Pharmacy History, Practice and Ethics Spring Semester, 2024 - 2025 Part I: Pharmacy History Pharmacy in Ancient Civilizations: Ancient Rome School of Pharmacy Lebanese International University PHAR250 – Pharmacy History, Practice and Ethics 2