What does "pharmacy" mean?
pharmacy (n.) late 14c., farmacie, "a medicine that rids the body of an excess of humors (except blood);" also "treatment with medicine; theory of treatment with medicine," from Old French farmacie "a purgative" (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin pharmacia, from Greek pharmakeia "a healing or harmful medicine, ...
What does "lybb" mean in Greek?
In addition to the Greek word he has Latin venenum "poison," earlier "drug, medical potion" (source of Spanish veneno, French venin, English venom ), and Old English lybb. Meaning "the use or administration of drugs" is from c. 1400; the sense of "art or practice of preparing, preserving, and compounding medicines and dispensing them according ...
Where does the word "pharmacy" come from?
The word pharmacy is derived from Old French farmacie "substance, such as a food or in the form of a medicine which has a laxative effect" from Medieval Latin pharmacia from Gre ek pharmakeia ( Greek: φαρμακεία) "a medicine", which itself derives from pharmakon ( φάρμακον ), meaning "drug, poison, spell " (which is etymologically related to pharmakos ).
What is a pharmacy called?
An establishment in which pharmacy (in the first sense) is practiced is called a pharmacy (this term is more common in the United States) or a chemist's (which is more common in Great Britain, though pharmacy is also used).
How long does it take to become a pharmacist?
In the United States, general pharmacist will attain a Doctor of Pharmacy Degree (Pharm.D.). The Pharm.D. can be completed in a minimum of six years, which includes two years of pre-pharmacy classes, and four years of professional studies. After graduating pharmacy school, it is highly suggested that the student go on to complete a one or two-year residency, which provides valuable experience for the student before going out independently to be a generalized or specialized pharmacist.
How many credit hours are there in pharmacy school?
Of the 208-credit hours, 68 are transferred-credit hours, and the remaining 140-credit hours are completed in the professional school. There are a series of required standardized tests that students have to pass throughout the process of pharmacy school.
What are the different types of pharmacy?
The field of pharmacy can generally be divided into three primary disciplines: 1 Pharmaceutics 2 Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy 3 Pharmacy Practice
What is the purpose of medication?
A medication is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. The Apothecary or The Chemist by Gabriël Metsu (c. 1651–67) Pharmacy is the clinical health science that links medical science with chemistry and it is charged with the discovery, production, disposal, safe and effective use, and control of medications and drugs.
What are the specialty areas of pharmacy?
In the United States, specializations in pharmacy practice recognized by the Board of Pharmacy Specialties include: cardiovascular, infectious disease, oncology, pharmacotherapy, nuclear, nutrition, and psychiatry.
Why do pharmaceuticals bear the symbol?
In America, pharmaceutical products still bear the symbol to mark the authority of prescriptions. Modern pharmaceutical symbols may be much more mundane than their predecessors, but they are still essential as marks of authority and reliability.
Where do pharmacies display the green cross?
Nowadays pharmacies display the green cross outside their shops. The green cross was first introduced as a pharmaceutical sign in continental Europe in the early 20th century as a replacement for the red cross, which was adopted by the International Red Cross in 1863. The green cross was not used in Britain until 1984, when the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain chose it as the standard symbol for pharmacy. The society stipulated that it should be produced in a specified shade of green, or in black and white, and that the word ‘pharmacy’ or ‘pharmacist’ should appear with it.
What tools did pharmacists use to advertise their products?
W hile alchemists used secret symbols to disguise their chemical formulations, pharmacists used the tools of their trade – medical ingredients , pestle and mortar, and carboys (pharmaceutical vessels) – to advertise on shop signs and in trade publications. And though their origins may be forgotten, many of the visual markers are still used in drug ...
What animal is used in pharmaceuticals?
Another animal symbol commonly seen in pharmaceutical branding is the unicorn. It was first mentioned by the ancient Greeks as a symbol of purity and grace, whose spiralling horn had the power to heal, especially as an antidote to poisons.
Who gave the Society of Apothecaries their charter?
Along with the lion, the unicorn is the symbol of the British monarchy, and it was King James I who granted the Society of Apothecaries their charter in 1617 and their coat of arms with the two unicorns. Coat of arms above Apothecaries Hall, London, Ben Gilbert. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Is mercury a chemical?
It’s perhaps not a coincidence, then, that the element mercury was a major chemical agent in the history of medicine and alchemy. For example, the evaporated vapour of mercury combined with snake venom was injected through the centre of the scalp as an antidote to snake bite and epilepsy.
Overview
Society and culture
The word pharmacy is derived from Old French farmacie "substance, such as a food or in the form of a medicine which has a laxative effect" from Medieval Latin pharmacia from Greek pharmakeia (Greek: φαρμακεία) "a medicine", which itself derives from pharmakon (φάρμακον), meaning "drug, poison, spell" (which is etymologically related to pharmakos).
Disciplines
The field of pharmacy can generally be divided into three primary disciplines:
• Pharmaceutics
• Pharmacokinetics
• Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy
• Pharmacy Practice
Professionals
The World Health Organization estimates that there are at least 2.6 million pharmacists and other pharmaceutical personnel worldwide.
Pharmacists are healthcare professionals with specialized education and training who perform various roles to ensure optimal health outcomes for their patients through the quality use of medicines. Pharmacists may also be small business proprietors, owning the pharmacy in which t…
Pharmacy support staff
Pharmacy technicians support the work of pharmacists and other health professionals by performing a variety of pharmacy-related functions, including dispensing prescription drugs and other medical devices to patients and instructing on their use. They may also perform administrative duties in pharmaceutical practice, such as reviewing prescription requests with medic's …
Education requirements
There are different requirements of schooling according to the national jurisdiction where the student intends to practise.
In the United States, general pharmacist will attain a Doctor of Pharmacy Degree (Pharm.D.). The Pharm.D. can be completed in a minimum of six years, which includes two years of pre-pharmacy classes, and four years of professional studies. After graduating pharmacy school, it is highly su…
History
The earliest known compilation of medicinal substances was the Sushruta Samhita, an Indian Ayurvedic treatise attributed to Sushruta in the 6th century BC. However, the earliest text as preserved dates to the 3rd or 4th century AD.
Many Sumerian (4th millennium BC – early 2nd millennium BC) cuneiform clay tablets record prescriptions for medicine.
Practice areas
Pharmacists practice in a variety of areas including community pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, extended care facilities, psychiatric hospitals, and regulatory agencies. Pharmacists themselves may have expertise in a medical specialty.
A pharmacy (also known as a chemist in Australia, New Zealand and the British Isles; or drugstore in North America; retail pharmacy in industry terminology; or