Everything about Apothecary totally explained
Apothecary is a 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.
The first apothecary shops were founded during the
Middle Ages by
Muslim practitioners. By 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 physicians 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' system to provide precise weighing of small quantities.
Noted apothecaries
Further Information
Get more info on 'Apothecary'.
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