Ancient Drugs Flashcards
How do we measure the ‘success’ of a
drug?
We can measure the reduction in deaths caused by
a particular disease.
We can measure the closure of hospitals such as TB
facilities or mental hospitals.
But these measures don’t capture all the effects of a
drug on a society
» It doesn’t tell us whether the quality of life of the
former patients improved or not
It’s almost impossible to measure the effects of
ancient drugs on populations because of
confounding factors
The Doctor’s Chest was called The ……………………….. Cargo.
Discovered? Excavated?
The Pozzino shipwreck cargo
Discovered in 1974; excavated 1989-90
The Medicine contained …. tablets contained 75% …….
5 tablets containing 75% Zinc
How can we explain the use of zinc from the medicine chest?
Pliny and Dioscorides both describe how
zinc compounds (calamine)used to treat
eyes and skin complaint
The recipe only worked against MRSA when it was
followed exactly: (3)
The recipe only worked against MRSA when it was
followed exactly:
>You needed the right combination of ingredients
> The right preparatory method
> The right waiting time
CNS stimulating plants
hemp plant – leaves and buds
opium poppy – seed-head
coca leaves - chewed
betel nut - chewed
kava leaves - chewed
tobacco – smoked or chewed
peyote - a cactus which produces mescalin
mushrooms - psilocybin
Mineral Sources
Clay – kaolinite
Chalk
Red ochre – iron salts?
Mercury
Arsenic
Metal containers, e.g. bronze
Verdigris – copper carbonate –
artists’ pigment
Gold, silver, antimony, zin
Alcohol has what medicinal properties?
Antiseptic and anaesthetic properties
Medicinal Sources
Raw honey
Insects – blister beetle = cantharides; spiders; ants;
locusts
Animal organs and tissues –ox gall (bile salts);
hair, horns, dung
Human body parts – hair, urine, blood, fat
Mummies –powdered for asphalt and ingested in
medicines – artist’s pigment
Manuscripts–spells written on slips of paper and
swallowed
Longest and most famous of the ancient Egyptian medical
papyrii.
The Ebers Papyrus
Gall and wine are both anti-………..
Raw honey is anti-………
Gall and wine are both astringent.
Raw honey is antiseptic.
Author of De Materia Medica, the first authoritative
Western pharmacoepia (c.50-70 CE).
Pedanius Dioscorides (40-90 CE):
Pedanius Dioscorides (40-90 CE) is…
Author of De Materia Medica, the first authoritative
Western pharmacoepia (c.50-70 CE).
……….. theory underpinned Islamic approach to
drug therapy.
Humoral theory underpinned Islamic approach to
drug therapy.
Al Razi introduced …….. to pharmacopeia
Mercury
