Role of Medicines in Early America Flashcards
What were the extremes of therapeutics in the 1700s and 1800s?
- Expectant medicines. 2. Heroic therapeutics.
What are heroic therapeutics?
Bloodletting + very strong laxatives and emetics (or alcohol)
What is expectant medicine?
Waiting for nature/diet.
Were Americans during this time “rough galenists?”
Yes.
What is Friedrich Sertürner (c. 1805) known for?
Isolating morphine from opium.
What marks the beginning of pharmacy and physiology?
François Magendie’s Formulary (1822/1824)
What is derived from Cinchona?
Quinine.
What was Cinchona/Quinine used for?
Malaria.
What group began to open “front ends?”
Druggists.
After the War of 1812, what changed for physicians?
They learned how to write prescriptions, not making them.
What idea began to be undermined at around 1500 CE?
The idea of balancing humors and holistically treating patients.
When was Celcus’ De Midicina rediscovered? What was important about it?
Around 1427. It became the first printed medical text.
What is the name Geber associated with? What time period is the name it from?
- Associated with Jabir ibn-Hayyan/alchemy. 2. 800 CE.
What was important about the Age of Exploration? What is one person who was part of this?
It was a search for new routes for spices and herbs to bypass the near monopoly of Venice. Christopher Columbus.
What also occurred during the age of exploration?
Revival of classical botany. One example is Pietro Mattioli’s Dioscoride (1548).
What was Paracelsus’ (1493-1541) new approach to therapeutics? (3)
- Considering each disease as specific to each patient. 2. Plant drugs marked by Creator (signatures). 3. Worked to use drugs for specific diseases.
What coincided with Paracelsus’ new approach?
New drugs were being used for specific diseases (ex. mercury compounds for syphilis).
What mercury compound did Paracelsus advocate for using for syphilis? Why is it important?
Calomel (c. 1600). Was one of the top five drugs for many years after.
Who tried to popularize applying alchemical technology for drugs and using magnetic remedies?
Parecelsus (1493-1541).
What did alchemist-inspired followers believe Quintessence was? (2)
- The Fifth Element (heavenly ether). 2. Rare and healing substance.
What kind of drugs were made through alchemist-inspired experiments?
Mineral drugs, such as mercury and antimony.
What was Guaiac used for?
Syphilis.
What was Sassafras used in?
Tonics.
What is William Withering known for?
Discovering the applications of Digitalis (Digitalis purpurea).
