Kelompok 1

History of Pharmacy, India

http://www.pharmainfo.net/zarrinfaria/history-pharmacy
Pharmacy profession has existed in a rudimentary form from time immemorial. It is fruitless
to try to determine when it started. Greeks were one of the first patrons of this profession.
The word pharmacy originated from the Greek word PHARMAKON.
It was in 9th century in the civilized world around Baghdad that the profession of pharmacy
started acquiring shape. It slowly spread to Europe as alchemy and finally developed into
chemistry. The first known chemical process was carried out by the artisans of Mesopotamia,
Egypt, and China. However in the 19th century it completely sprouted out from medicine
and started developing as a separate profession.
This happened only when the role of pharmacist as a compounder of medicines were
identified and differentiated from physician whose role was accepted as the therapist. The
practice in those times was restricted to compounding, dispensing medication and
manufacturing medicaments in bulk lots not for general sale. The medicament commonly
produced was simple elixirs, spirits, and powders in contrast to the complex pharmaceutical
remedies of the present era.
The 19th century witnessed various milestones being set in the field of pharmacy. In 1821,
first school of pharmacy was established in U.S at Philadelphia. The first U.S pharmacopoeia
was published in 1820. American pharmacist association was founded in 1852.The first
National formulary was published in 1888.
The inception of pharmacy profession in India was marked by the first class of the
chemist and druggist conducted at the Madras medical college in 1870s to train students to
gain skills in pharmacy practice. Pharmacy education pattern was based on the instructions
provided by the pharmaceutical society of Great Britain. A formal training of the
compounders was started in 1881 in Bengal.
The pharmacy profession entered India almost simultaneously with U.S but the growth in
India remained very slow. For almost half a century not much progress was noticed, until
B.pharm course was started in 1937 at Banaras Hindu University and in 1944 at the Punjab
University, Lahore now in Pakistan. The B.pharm course at BHU was industry oriented while
that at Punjab University was oriented towards Pharmacy practice. Though the profession
was oriented towards pharmacy practice at the introductory stage but as it grew it became
more industry oriented.
This bend lead to the development of modern Indian pharmaceutical industry, which is now
the 4th in terms of volume and 14th in terms of value. The future prediction for the Indian
pharmaceutical industry is that it is expected to become the super power by the year 2020.
As the pharmaceutical industry is becoming highly automatic the bend is again towards the
pharmacy practice like the rest of the world. The future of a pharmacy is in pharmacy
practice. So, it is now observed that pharmacy in India is going back to from where it
started: Pharmacy Practice.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/455192/pharmacy/35617/History-ofpharmacy

The beginnings of pharmacy are ancient. When the first person expressed juice from
a succulent leaf to apply to a wound, this art was being practiced. In the Greek
legend, Asclepius, the god of the healing art, delegated to Hygieia the duty of
compounding his remedies. She was his apothecary or pharmacist. The physicianpriests of Egypt were divided into two classes: those who visited the sick and those
who remained in the temple and prepared remedies for the patients. In ancient
Greece and Rome and during the Middle Ages in Europe, the art of healing
recognized

pharmacy,
the science and art concerned with the preparation
and standardization of drugs. Its scope includes the cultivation of plants that
are used as drugs, the synthesis of chemical compounds of medicinal value,
and the analysis of medicinal agents. Pharmacists are responsible for the
preparation of the dosage forms of drugs, such as tablets, capsules, and
sterile solutions for injection. They compound physicians, dentists, and
veterinarians prescriptions for drugs. The science that embraces knowledge
of drugs with special reference to the mechanism of their action in the
treatment of disease is pharmacology.

The pharmacy profession can be traced back at least as far as the Sumerian
population, living in modern day Iraq. From around 4000 BC, they used
medicinal plants such as liquorice, mustard, myrrh, and opium. There were
separate people who worked to prepare medicines, as a separate role from
diagnosis and treatment which was carried out by medics. These precursors
to pharmacists also combined their role with that of a priest. The Sumerians
wrote the earliest surviving prescriptions from at least 2700 B.C. so nearly
5000 years ago.
The Ancient Egyptians had specific preparers of medicine, known as
Pastophor. Pharmacy was viewed as a high status branch of medicine, and
again, like the Sumerians, these pharmacists were also priests who worked
and practised in the temples.
From surviving papyrus scrolls, notably the Ebers Papyrus which dates from
1500 BC, we know that the Egyptians made and used infusions, ointments,
lozenges, suppositories, lotions, enemas, and pills. The Ebers Papyrus
includes 875 prescriptions and 700 drugs.
Meanwhile, in China in about the same era (2000 BC), a man called Shen
Nung wrote the first Pen Tsao or native herbal, which contained descriptions
of 365 plant-based drugs.
2

Stalls and shops selling medicinal goods existed around 1900 B.C. in the
town of Sippara on the Euphrates river. However, the earliest recorded shop
dealing with sales of medicines in London was opened in 1345

Kelompok 2
The history of pharmacy in Britain

http://www.rpharms.com/about-pharmacy/history-of-pharmacy.asp

The word 'pharmacist' was first used in a publication in England in 1834

according to the Oxford English Dictionary in a novel by Lytton called The
Last Days of Pompeii. However, it was certainly in use from the 18th
century with the meaning of someone who prepared and dispensed
medicines. Nevertheless, at the beginning of the 19th century most people
working in this area would have called themselves chemists and/or
druggists. The terms pharmacist and pharmaceutical chemist (now usually
shortened to chemist) came later in the 1800s.
The word pharmacy has a much longer history in England. Chaucer in The
Knights Tale (written around 1386) uses the word to describe a medical
preparation of plants farmacies of herbs.
The term apothecary, often used between the 1600s and 1800s, does not
refer to the chemist and druggist, or pharmacist. It was used for individuals
living in London who had passed the examinations of the Worshipful Society
of Apothecaries of London, founded in 1617, or to their often less well
qualified counterparts in the provinces. The role of the apothecary developed
out of the role of the spicer or pepperer or grocers someone whose trade
included crude drugs and prepared medicines. The Grocers had their own
Guild professional body in the City of London- from the 13the century. The
Apothecaries split from them in 1617 to form their own Society.
Although the apothecary's practice included a strong dispensing element, it
was more all encompassing than the handling of drugs and
3

chemicals. Apothecaries were also examining and treating patients, but they
did not charge for these services only for the medicines supplied.
Following a ruling in the Rose Case (1701-1703/4), apothecaries became
legally ratified members of the medical profession, able to prescribe as well
as dispense medicines.
As apothecaries moved into a more advisory role, pharmacists (or chemists
and druggists) could develop their own area of preparation and supply of
medicines. However, this put them in competition with the apothecaries who
were also still involved in the same area. The apothecaries attempted to
control the chemists and druggists' activities in 1748 with a proposed new
law to control the supply of medicines. This didn't progress.
In the early 1800s, an Association was formed to put together a proposal to
Parliament to set up a body that examined and regulated apothecaries,
surgeon-apothecaries, midwives and dispensing chemists. The chemists and
druggists took action, arguing that they were best placed to set their own
standards, as they were more experienced in making up prescriptions and
making medicines than the apothecaries, so they should not be put under
their control. The chemists and druggists won their argument, and when the
Apothecaries Act of 1815 was finally created, the apothecaries did not have
control over making medicines.
Some key dates in pharmacy history
182 The alkaloid quinine was first extracted from the bark of cinchona trees by two French
0
chemists, Pierre Joseph Pelletier and Joseph Biename Caventou.
187
4

Diamorphine or Heroin was first synthesised from morphine.

188
3

First edition of The Extra Pharmacopoeia published, edited by William Martindale and
Dr Wynn Westcott.

189
9

Aspirin, was launched by the German company.

191
0
191
5
191
7

Salvarsan, the first 'magic bullet' drug, effective against syphilis was
discovered by Paul Ehrlich and Dr Sahachiro Hata.
Medicine stamp duty was doubled as a wartime fundraiser.

The Venereal Disease Act prohibited the advertising of medicines for VD and
selling
mixtures containing scheduled substances. It introduced the concept of
4

'prescription only' medicines.

192
2

192
8
193
8
193
9
194
0

194
1

The Dangerous Drugs Act regulated the import and sale of potential 'drugs of
addiction',
including the derivatives of opium, cocaine and cannabis so widely used in
proprietary remedies.
Penicillin discovered by Alexander Fleming.

The Food and Drugs Act prohibited the adulteration and mislabeling of drugs.
The Cancer Act restricted the advertisement of products claiming to treat cancer.

Under the Finance (No. 2) Act purchase tax was imposed on a range of goods
including most drugs and medicines.
The Pharmacy and Medicines Act repealed the old medicine stamp duty. It
forbade the general advertisement of products claiming to treat a number of
specific illnesses including Bright's disease, cataract epilepsy and TB, or to be
effective in procuring an abortion. For the first time manufacturers were
required to list the active ingredients of products on their packaging.

194
8

The National Health Service made prescription medicine available to all. Until
the introduction, in the 1950s, and subsequent hefty increasing of prescription
charges, proprietary medicines were no longer seen as a cheap alternative to
seeing the doctor.

196
1

Ibuprofen was first synthesised by a team at the Boots Pure Drug Company in
December.

196
4

Introduction of Adverse Drug Reaction 'yellow card' scheme in reponse to the

thalidomide tragedy of 1961.

Kelompok 3

The American Pharmacists Association: A

short history
http://www.pharmacist.com/AM/Template.cfm?
Section=History
5

Founded as the American Pharmaceutical Association in 1852, APhA today

represents more than 60,000 practicing pharmacists, pharmaceutical
scientists, student pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and others interested
in advancing the profession. APhA, dedicated to helping all pharmacists
improve medication use and advance patient care, is the first-established
and largest association of pharmacists in the United States. Three academies
Pharmacy Practice and Management, Pharmaceutical Research and
Science, and Student Pharmacistsmake up APhA.
Since its founding on October 6, 1852, in Philadelphia, APhA has been the
home for all of pharmacy. Virtually every pharmacy specialty organization
traces its roots to APhA and the many sections and interest groups it has
served over the years, including the National Community Pharmacy
Association (founded in 1898 as the National Association of Retail Druggists),
the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (founded in 1900 as the
American Conference on Pharmaceutical Faculties), and the American
Society of Health-System Pharmacists (founded in 1942 as the American
Society of Hospital Pharmacists).
APhAs reach goes far beyond the shores of the United States. An active
participant in the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) since 1925,
APhA has both hosted and attended dozens of meetings of pharmacists from
around the world, and its staff and officers have held key positions in FIP and
other international pharmacy organizations.
Policy for APhA and the profession of pharmacy as a whole is developed by
the APhA House of Delegates. Comprising representatives from all major
national pharmacy organizations, state pharmacy associations, federal
pharmacy, and APhAs three academies, the APhA House of Delegates meets
during the APhA annual meeting each spring to consider matters of timely
and critical importance to pharmacy. The House was first organized in 1912.
A spinoff of APhAs centennial celebration was the APhA Foundation, created
in 1953. The Foundation, recognized as a 501(c)3 charitable/educational
nonprofit organization, conducts research demonstration projects, such as its
Project ImPACT, and its latest initiative, the HealthMapRX, a project that aims
to combat the effects that chronic diseases have on Americas workforce.
Along with demonstration projects, the Foundation offers programs to
pharmacists such as the Advanced Practice Institute, National Clinical Issues
Forum, and the Incentive Grants for Practitioner Innovation in Pharmaceutical
Care. The Foundation also hosts the Pinnacle Awards each year to recognize
health professionals contributions to the health care system.
In the 1920s and 1930s, APhA was able to secure coveted land on the
National Mall in Washington, D.C., for construction of its national
headquarters. Designed by famed architect John Russell Pope, the American
6

Institute of Pharmacy was built at 23rd Street and Constitution Avenue and
dedicated in 1934. An annex was constructed later, being dedicated in 1960.
Today, the annex has been demolished and has made way for a new addition
to the original Pope building, completed in 2009.
As it has done for more than 150 years, APhA continues today to lead the
profession of pharmacy. Medication therapy management, a component of
the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit launched in 2006, provides the
means for pharmacists to complete the transformation of their profession
from one focused on the drug product to a clinical service focused on the
patient. As APhA Executive Vice President and CEO John A. Gans, PharmD,
puts it, pharmacists have gone from making medicines to making
medicines work. Through the programs, publications, and services provided
through APhA, pharmacists across America and around the world are in the
forefront of making this change happen each day, one patient at a time.

The History of the Pharmacy

Introduction
The Medieval Faience Pharmacy Objects

The Saint Healers

The Oldest Collections

The Collection of Muniments and Documents

The Drama of the Old Pharmaceutic Objects

The Destruction and the Nationalization of the Chemist's Shops

The Problem of the Collections of History of the Pharmacy

The Present-day Situation

Conclusions

Some say that the Dacians used medicinal herbs and had medical
knowledge, facts that are mentioned by some of the Ancient Greek and
Roman writers. It is rightly supposed that the first ustensils for the preparing
of the medicines had been manufactured out of wood and burnt clay, but
they did not resist to the aggressive factors of the nature and to the
incapacity of the people in preserving those ustensils. It seems that all of
them, the Ancient receptacles and medicines, as well as those from the
territory of present-day Romania are of Mediterranean origin. All along the
Black Sea coast and in Dobrudja numerous vestiges, up to the Roman
7

conquest of Moesia Superior, belong to the Hellenistic culture. The oldest

pharmaceutical vessel acknowledged by the archaeologists would be an
"alabastron" (a vessel with characteristic shape, made of glass and having
blue color) dated in the 7th century BC
Introduction
In the present-day museums of Dobrudja there are
numerous vestiges, especially from the first
centuries of our era: two small portable, partitioned
medicine chests, with prismatic glass flagons ( not
round as the majority of the nowadays flagons are),
differentiated into bottles for liquids (narrownecked ), jars with an equal volume with that of the
bottles, but with wider necks, used to preserve
powders and small glass or ceramics receptacles,
with characteristic forms and dimensions,
resembling to those that used to be placed by the
Romans inside one's tomb in order to symbolically
collect the tears of those who mourned the defunct
person, receptacles used to preserve ointments,
having different forms, as well as other such objects.
In this respect there is a well documented little book
by the archaeologist Mihai Bucoval. Besides, there
are charateristic metal little spoons, beautifully executed and glass sidefooted sticks, simple or in cable moulding. Such Ancient objects can be found
in museums from Mangalia, Constana, Tulcea, Galai, Brila, in The
Severeanu Collection in Bucharest etc.
We should also mention the two portable medicine chests with 5,
respectivelly 7 compartments and with other accessories, too; they are
exhibited in The Museum of Archaeology and National History of Constana.
Inside the mosaic edifice there are exhibited several amphoras with drugs
(resins) partly carbonized and which, undergoing an organoleptical analysis,
could not be identified. Although of Hellenistic origin, they are extremely
valuable for the Romanian pharmacy museums by their age and richness.
Objects and ustensiles, mainly of Roman facture and ressembling to the
Hellenistic and the Hellenic ones, brought from the Italic peninsula, are less
numerous but endemical on the territory of our country. Such objects,
disconnected or together can be found in Sighioara, Alba Iulia, Craiova, Tg.
Jiu, Turnu Severin and probably in other localities that have not been
identified up to the present moment. These objects: glass vesels, little
spoons, sticks, small receptacles for preserving ointments, clay rushlights,
receptacles of the type that resemble to the Roman mortuary vessels of
which we have already mentioned, are all things of value for our museums.
Unfortunately, there is neither a centralized evidence of these objects nor
have they been profoundly studied. We could add medicines presented under
8

the form of hard eye washes (dry), with the printed seal of the person who
executed the preparation (for exemple, Publius Corcolonius). We could also
add amulets, votive plates and data on a sort of nurseries in the Roman
castes, as well as instruments: bistouries, forcepses, needles made of
various metals and others, that were used for therapeutical purposes by our
ancestors.
Kelompok 4

Medieval Faience Pharmacy Objects from the Romanian Museums

Because of the artfulness they have been executed
with and because of their signification, such vessels
have been imported from the West by the specialists.
The vessels are larger or smaller than the nowadays
flower vases, made of enamelled faience, with burnt
etiquetes (that is written before the vessels were put
into kilns). As a rule they were made with the "great
fire technique" and only few were made with the
"small fire technique". When the Chinese porcelain
begun to be imported, the vessels were nolonger
produced in the West. They are very rare in the
Romanian museums. Thus, in The National Art
Museum of Bucharest there are 18 pieces, namely:
"albare" (special forms of vessels used to preserve ointments and soft
extracts), carafes for aromated waters, jugs.

Some such vessels are to be found in the profile collection of The Pele
Museum of Sinaia. A porcelain vessel, having (as others as well) as effigy a
saint with an aureola, is to be found in the collection of The Pharmacy Faculty
of Bucharest. At the present moment the situation of the 18 vessels from The
National Museum is not exactly known because the objects have been put to
shelter because of the events of the 22nd-25th of December 1989. One (or
more of these vessels) are to be found in The History and Archaeology
Museum of Bucharest. All or almost all of the vessels from The Art National
Museum have been photographed and exhibited on the occasion of several
pharmacy manifestations and constituted the object of a calendar of The
Medicines Factory from Bucharest, before the revolution.
The Saint Healers
Pictures of the Saint healers representing Cosma and
Damian, as artistic proofs in the orthodox an catholic
Romanian churches, can be found in many places. The
oldest picture of them all is in the church situated in
Densu (Hunedoara County), but also in Roman,
9

Bucharest etc. They are important because, on the one hand many of them
are medieval,and on the other hand because one of these two saints holds a
small portable medical pouch that seems to be made of wood and in the
other one he holds a spoon or a little spoon used to administer the medicine,
usually pills or bolus. Of course, there are many saint healers which have
been painted in the churches but they do not have ustensiles. The orthodox
Romanian church painting also shows Ancient physicians such as Esculap
and Hygiea.
The Oldest Collections of History of the Pharmacy
In Romania, the laboratory pharmacy appeared later than in the West and
progressed slower. The first mentioning in official documents is dated in the
year 1494, in Sibiu, chemist's shops appearing afterwards in Bistria, Braov,
Fgra etc. In the Danubian Romanian Principalities the chemist's shops
appear during the second half of the 18th century, although the trade with
medicinal drugs (camphor, pepper, etc.) is dated three centuries earlier. The
objects belonging to the Romanian Middle Age preserved and are still
preserved in some places, by virtue of habit, but due to lack of acquaintance
with the matter, the objects are getting fewer and fewer every year. We
could take as exemple the situation of two objects used for other purposes,
but which have been identified and handed over to the museums: a charge
of one pound was keeping open, for over 100 years, the door of the
dispensary of the Military Hospital from Cluj.
Now the object is at The National Military Museum of
Bucharest. The master of the State Chemist's Shop
(ex-chemist's shop no. 84), Duca Avenue, had on her
desk a brass piece, polished after so much
manipulation, as it was used to press the prescriptions
so that they would not be blown by the draught. It had
the form of the pyramid trunk. The chemist had
brought it from another chemist's shop but she was
not curious to look at it attentively; if she had done so, she would have seen
the metrology cheques legislated a century before. It had an old
pharmaceutical weight. So, during the time, pieces 100-150 years old had
been and actually continue to be found; they are unindentified and used with
other purposes. The oldest collections of history of the pharmacy that have
been organized after World War I, belong to the professors from Cluj, namely
Professor Doctor Jules Guiart and Valeriu Bologa and, apart, to Iuliu Orient,
physician-chemist, whose collection seems to be a little bit older.
A small and old collection of history of the pharmacy can be found at The
History Museum of Sighioara. Numerous pharmacy pieces are used as hand
balances, weight boxes, pestle mortars, etc.; such objects are frequently
found in many museums in the country, but they are little studied. An old
collection is at The Medicine and Pharmacy Museum in Roman, Neam
10

County; it has been studied and exhibited by Mr. Czrescu, Doctor. It is

exposed to degradations due to the fact that it is placed in a small room that
functioned as control post. It would represent a significant loss because the
hospital had been built two centuries ago.
The Collection of Pharmacy Muniments and
Documents
The collection has been founded at the end of the 19th
century by N. I. Angelescu, Doctor-Chemist, from
Bucharest. The collection, which has never been
exhibited for the public, constituted the base of the
printed work entitled "Papers and Documents from the
Past of the Romanian Principalities", Bucharest, 1904.
Unfortunately, the author, a great personality of the
Romanian pharmacy, brought the collection to the
House of Trade - and, some authors say, was sheltered
inside the present-day building of the Court house
situated on the Quay of Dmbovia River. The chemists
do not know what happened next with the collection.
Pharmacy muniments, though few in number, can be found in the Central
State Archives in Bucharest. The muniments were written by hand on
parchmented paper and were signed by the Romanian rulers which reigned
between 1750 - 1830; the pergaments bear imposing sealing waxes; the
intention was to create chemist's shops and to give privileges.
The Drama of the Old Pharmacy Objects from the Collection of the
Pharmacy Faculty in Bucharest
According to the relating of Professor Doctor Al. Ionescu Matiu (1889-1975), it
seems that after the Pharmacy Faculties of Iai, Cluj and Bucharest were
unified in 1934 in Bucharest, the newly created institution gathered old
objects from the chemist's shops from the country's capital-city, thus making
up a museum collection. In this respect, chemist Aurel Scurtu was especially
called from Galai. There he owned a chemist's shop and was the author of
many articles on the history of the pharmacy, which were published in the
successive magazines he edited. The didactic collection was well organized
by a competent person and exhibited for the public in the building of the old
Bucharest University, the present-day Faculty of History. In 1944, during the
bombardments, it was exactly that side of the building that was hit and set
on fire.
Unfortunately, all the objects were lost, and if something was saved anyway,
the place where it could be found is not known. Thus, the capital-city of the
country was widowed of the oldest and most beautiful vestiges of pharmacy
history. A year after the bombardment chemist Aurel Scurtu died and our
investigations at his domicile in t. Furtun Street (ex- Angelescu Street) led
11

to no results due to the changing of the lodgers and to the nationalization of

the house.
Kelompok 5

Destructions During the War

It is known for sure that the Schuster Emil chemist's shop situated on Calea
Victoriei, at the beginning of Calea Griviei, was hit during the German air
raids of the 25th- 27th of August 1944. The entire shop was destroyed but it
had in its windows an expensive collection of medieval faience pharmacy
objects (say the eye-witnesses). It is not known if anything was saved and, if
so, where it could be found.
The Nationalization of the Chemist's Shops in Romania
This operation was made in three different stages: on
the 11th of June 1948 the biggest laboratories of
pharmacy products have been nationalized; on the
2nd of April 1949 the private chemist's shops from the
towns have been nationalized; in 1953 the rural
chemist's shops have been nationalized. By entering
the state chemist's shops, it seemed that the old ones
will be preserved as they were on their places.
However, a stipulation from the Ministry of Health
decided the modernization of the chemist's shops and
the handing over of the old objects to The Bruckenthal
State Museum in Sibiu. Duringng 1951 - 1952, maybe
later also, 64 boxes containing pharmacy objects were
sent. We have no knowledge of the stipulations by
virtue of which the most representative pieces were
selected and sent to Cluj, to The Museum of History of
Transylvania and constituted there The Museum of
History of the Pharmacy.
In 1973, the second Pharmacy Museum was open in Sibiu, having objects
from this collection, that were to be found at The Bruckenthal Museum.
Unfortunately, the organizers of these museums never revealed the sources
from where the objects came. Their discretion might be related to hidden
purposes. They also gave the impression that the objects belonged there.
Negligence must not be left out of view. The third lot of pharmacy objects of
historical importance remained in the storage rooms of The Bruckenthal
Museum and can constitute a part of the patrimony fund of a future national
museum of pharmacy.

12

The Problem of the Museum Collections on the History of the

Pharmacy that Exist in Romania and Solutions for Their Future
It is well-known that in the entire country there are over 20 collections that
are state property, stored in places that are state property as well. As the
storage places can become private property, these collections might: Either,
if preserved in state property, be evacuated from those places, as these ones
would have more profitable usings. Or, they would become private property
and would cease being exhibited for the public; thus the trace of the
materials would be lost. An analysis at the highest degree must be
effectuated; a decision that would state their regime must be issued as well.
If these collections had a state inventory and the storage places remained in
state property as well, the problem of the buildings servicing (who pays) and
of the personnel ( who gives the salaries) would occur than. We shall further
describe the collections that exist in state property in an organized manner.
The Present-day Situation
The state fund consisting of pharmacy furniture, vessels and utensils that are
obsolete and present a high level of damage, represent a constitutive part of
the present-day functioning chemist's shops. This general inventory, with old
furniture of historic interest, has been achieved by and with the participation
of the ex-chemist's offices. Nowadays, they are incompletely changed into
private property, because the old endowments of the chemist's shops from
all over the country had not been changed into private property.
The historic inventory could be preserved in the state fund and delivered by
transfer to the national patrimony. Now it is the most opportune time for this
because, if the objects arrive in the possession of private owners, their
passing into a museum's possession and exhibiting them into a national
museum would meet great difficulties, moreover, the base of materials
would be significantly reduced in view of constituting the fund of objects for
the museum. The difficulties would start at the moment when, instead of
talking to one single owner - the state - the problem of constituting the fund
of objects for the museum would get slower by talking to the hundreds or the
thousands of private owners.
It is also necessary to take into consideration a conjuncture element: as a
consequence of the decline of preparing the medicines in the laboratory of
the chemist's shops in favour of the medicines prepared on industrial scale,
many utensils, apparata vessels and maybe furniture would not be useful
any longer and could be given to a future museum. Rescuing these objects 2
or 3 years from now would be too late because destroying is easier and more
simple than preserving something in order to transfer it to The National
Pharmacy Museum. This opportunity hurries the organizing of the national
museum.

13

The Pharmacy Museum of the National Museum of History of

Transylvania from Cluj
The Pharmacy Museum of the Bruckenthal State Museum, Sibiu

The Collection of History of the Pharmacy from the basement of the

Bruckenthal Musem, Sibiu

The Collection of the Faculty of Pharmacy from Bucharest

The Musuem of the History of Medicine and Pharmacy from Craiova

The Museum Collection of the Medicines Storage Room of Banat,

ARCATIM, Timioara

The Museum Pharmacy Collection of the Ex-Pharmacy Office, Galai

The Museum Collection of the History of the Pharmacy of the History

Museum from Brila

The Collection of History of the Pharmacy from the ex-Chemist's Shop

no.40, Bucharest

The Collection of the History of Medicine and Pharmacy in Professor

Doctor Vasile Rascanu Memorial House

The Museum Collection of the ARGESFARM Trade Society, Piteti

Small Collectionsfrom the History and Archaeology Museums from

Constana, Mangalia, Giurgiu and Tg. Jiu

The Museum Collection of The History Museum of Focani

The SC. MEDIFARM Ploieti Collection

The Museum Pharmacy Collection from Oravia

The Collection of The Institute of Public Hygiene and Health from

Bucharest

The House of chemist C. C. Hepites from Brila

The Collection of History of the Pharmacy from Braov

Museum - Chemist's Shops

Unorganized Collections or mere disconnected pieces

Kelompok 6

14

The Present-day Situation

1. The Pharmacy Museum of The National History Museum of
Transylvania, Cluj-Napoca,
Doctor Physician Eva Crian as custodian. It is the first museum in
Romania that was created with a majority of objects that had been
conceded by The Bruckenthal Museum and with part of the objects
belonging to the Hintzs's chemist's shop that had been funded in 1710.
It is probably the oldest one, but the building still exists even now. It is
state property. The museum is open for the public.
2. The Pharmacy Museum of The Bruckenthal State Museum,
Sibiu
Part of the objects that were collected after the nationalization
together with the "La Ursul Negru" ("The Black Bear's") chemist's
shop's inventory (property of chemist Guido Fabritius, who lived in
Germany) are now state property and make up the present-day
inventory of the museum - chemist's shop (Chemist Ban Minodora
being the custodian). The museum is open for the public. The
exhibition is well organized but the objects are not studied from a
pharmaceutical point of view, as the case is at The National History
Museum in Cluj.
3. The Collection of History of the Pharmacy from the Basement
of The Bruckenthal Museum, Sibiu
It is made up of objects that remained after the most representative
and aesthetic pieces had been chosen and handed over to the two
museums described above. It is an unstudied collection, stored
together with depersonalized and, probably, not paired objects as well.
From a scientific point of view we know that all the small
homeopathical medicine chests have been grouped by historian
chemist I. Fr. Roth (1914 - 1977) and stored in The Pharmacy Museum
in Sibiu; it was a remarcable and well done thing; Sibiu was the city
where Hahnemann, the founder of the homeopathy as a science, had
lived. We do not know the criteria that were at the base of the
distribution of the other pieces between the two museum - chemist's
shops. This collection may constitute the basis for a national pharmacy
museum but we suppose it being insufficient because they are remains
and, probably, the most recent belonging to the harvesting of 1950 1952.
4. The Collection of The Faculty of Pharmacy in Bucharest
15

It was created for didactic purposes but it went beyond this objective
as it enowed itself with numerous objects from the Counties of
Hunedoara ( Director Andrei Labud) and Suceava (Director Paul
Potorac) at the request of Doctor Lecturer Frirotu Z. around the '70's
or so. This is a rich collection exhibited in two rooms and a small
repository (the third room). Normally, this colection should contain
aparata and ustensiles that are used in the teaching process. However,
the criterium has not been paid attention to and that is why it has a
pharmacy musuem character. It is state property, Professor Doctor Ana
Carata being the conservatoire. She also teaches the History of the
Pharmacy at the Faculty of Pharmacy. The present-day conservatoires
aprove the transfer of objects and constitute the second base for the
national museum.
5. The Museum of the History of Medicine and Pharmacy, Craiova
Has mixed aims: both didactic and exhibitional. The Director is
Professor Doctor Scheanu Mihail, professor in the History of the
Pharmacy at the Faculty of Pharmacy in Craiova. The pharmacy part is
sheltered in the basement and does not benefit by the best conditions.
It is state property. Here is the adress where the offices are: Unirii
Street, no.104; it has a yard and an area for growing medicinal herbs.
The source of the objects is known - but not entirely - due to the two
founders, the chemists Gh. Cismrescu and N. Zahacinschi, both of
them deceased.
6. The Museum Collection Belonging to the Medicines Repository
of Banat ARCATIM, Timioara
It is a small collection, exhibited in a room. We do not know the exact
situation, but there exists the possibility of disanssembling as the old
chemist founder and conservatoire, Popovici Valeriu, has now retired. It
has not been open for the public and the objects have not been
scientifically identified. "Arcatim" is now a trade organization and in
the future it might need the space where the collection is kept.
7. The Museum Pharmacy Collection of the Ex-Pharmacy Office,
Galai
Is now a trade Society named "Hepites" s.r.l. It has a collection of old
pharmacy vessel and objects. We do not know the present-day
situation of the inventory and the value of the pieces. It seems that it is
exhibited for the public since 1981, but the information is incertain.
8. The Museum Collection of the History of the Pharmacy
Belonging to the History Museum in Brila
16

It is state property. The collection has been founded by Paul

Blcnescu (1910 - 1965). After the death of the chemist, his sister
donated the entire inventory to the locality museum, following the
testamentary will. Now the collection can be found in good conditions
at the museum that is situated in Piaa Traian (Trajan Square), Brila.
However, the objects of history of the pharmacy are few and not
studied.
9. The Collection of History of the Pharmacy, State Property of
the Ex-State Chemist's Shop No.40 in Bucharest, Calea Clrai
Is now conceded to a trade society. It is a valuable collection, the
majority of the objects being well known as origin and fabrication. It is
also open for the public, but not with museum status. It comprises old,
unitary furniture (belonging to one single chemist's shop), vessels,
ustensiles - it seems that it has the same source as the furniture. It
also comprises a small pharmacy library - books from the 20th century
and pharmacopoeias. It is attractive for the chemists because it is
aesthetic as well.
10.
The Collection of History of Medicine and Pharmacy from
the Memorial House of Professor Doctor Vasile Rcanu, Iai
It is a reduced collection, it comprises pharmacy objects,
pharmacopoeias etc. Space - a small room; it illustrates the
developement of the Moldavian pharmacy. It has a didactic purpose as
well. It is open for the public. The objects are disparate, regarding from
the point of view of their origin.
11.

The Museum Collection of ARGEFARM Piteti

Trade Societyfounded by the old pharmacy office from Piteti. It is a

rich, unitary and well built collection. The furniture, vessels, ustensiles,
diplomas, books, etc. are stored in two large rooms that enter the
repository of a functioning chemist's shop, now in private property. The
custodian, founder and conservatoire is chemist Dorina Murean. She
has advertized the collection on the occasion of various national and
international manifestations (Wien, Prague, Paris). The collection has
an assured perspective and it should be conceded to the national
heritage , respectively to the History Museum of Arge County.
12.
Small Collections from the History and Archaeology
Museums in Constana, Mangalia, Giurgiu, Tg. Jiu and others
possess old pharmacy objects, some of them even from the
Antiquity.
17

The objects are exhibited. Neither an inventory, nor a sistematic study

from the point of view of the history of the pharmacy have been made,
but they are necessary. It is a dowry of invaluable historic value, but it
is not advertized and sufficiently studied.
13.
The Museum Collection Belonging to The History Museum,
Focani
It is inventoried and exhibited. The objects are well located. The
collection comes from an exhibition on the history of the pharmacy
organized on the occasion of an inter-regional pharmacy conference in
1970 (organizer C. Iugulescu, with the support of the Focani
chemists). The entire collection has been donated to the History
Museum in Focani, where few proofs existed and other pieces were
collected from private persons and chemist's shops that have been
subsequently demolished during 1976 - 1985. Part of the assets of the
old chemist's shops, situated in basements, have been burried by
leveling the area so that new buildings could be constructed. Focani
still has the possibility to collect some objects related to the history of
the pharmacy.
14.

S.C. MEDIFARM Ploieti Collection, State Property

It seems that the collection has unrecorded objects. It has been

founded by the old pharmacy office, now transformed into trade
society. The inventory and the value of the pieces are not known.
Kelompok 7

15.

The Pharmacy Museum Collection, Oravia

It comprises two rooms where a temporary exhibition was held and

now the furniture and the vessels are only stored. It has not been
advertized. We do not know its adress (it seems that it could be
sheltered in two rooms with degrading roof, somewhere near or at the
town theatre).
16.
The Collection of The Institute of Public Hygiene and
Health in Bucharest
Has only a few glass pieces (disconnected pharmacy vessels, of
different size and source) with no historic value, constituted only for
illustrative purpose. But, the collections of old books and magazines
belonging to the history of medicine department are more important
than the pharmacy objects. It is important that many old and rare
pharmacy books, donated by chemists, are accessible but not
18

exhibited. The value of the collection is immense, but the storage

conditions are not proper - in halls or basements).
17.

The House of Chemist C. C. Hepites from Brila

Would be suited for declaring it memorial house. C. C. Hepites was one

of the first class personalities of the 19th century. It would be a great
win for the town itself, Brila, the major of which he was.
18.

The Collection of History of the Pharmacy, Braov

Organized by the old inter-county pharmacy office, now turned into

trade society named "Farmacom" s.r.l. A room from a 200 year-old
building, that functioned as a chemist's shop, was localized in Braov.
It seems that the wall paintings that proved the room had been used
as a chemist's shop, have been covered again, if not even destroyed.
Anyway, the County of Braov has a good potential in the field of the
history of the pharmacy, a potential that have not been explored; it is
to be found in Braov, Codlea, Fgra.
19.

Museum-Chemist's Shops

Presently, more chemist's shops that have preserved the furniture,

vessels and even the configuration of an older chemist's shop, well
determined from a scientific - historic point of view, may be declared
museum-chemist's shops and offered to the visitors. Here are few
chemist's shops that have a well known, characteristic past and an
unitary aspect and which are now passing into private property:
o
o

The state chemist's shop, ex-no.13 "Hotranu", Galai Street,

Bucharest
The state chemist's shop, ex-no. 40 "Mihalovici Aristide" Clrai
Street, Bucharest
Numerous chemist's shops from the province: Corabia, Sinaia
etc.

20.

Unorganized Collections or mere disconnected pieces

Presently, they are state property, but soon will be passed into private
property. It is less probable that they will remain unitary, because the
new commodities requirements demand that the spaces must be
cleared. Probably they will desintegrate, but it would represent a great
loss for the national heritage.
19

Conclusions
These data impose the founding of a national museum of History of the
Pharmacy. Here are the most important elements in this respect:
The political situation of transition toward privatization takes out from
the state property and thus, from the pharmacy heritage, all the above
mentioned collections. The national museum could absorb the
collections that would remain without a storage place and without
guard - conservation.
The museum could function in a building that was raised with the
financial contribution of the chemists, should it be retroceded; the
building is situated in Pitar Mo Street and belongs to the Chemist's
Shops Supply Office (OAF). Minovici villa could also be solicited; it had
been conceded to the state. The place would be satisfying . It is
situated in a central area and served as shelter for museum materials.

The difference between our country and the Western developed

countries could be reduced.

There are unlimited resources coming from the quashing of the

Romanian pharmacy industry undergoing a process of receiving a
technological character. We already have the trained personnel for this.
A Romanian pharmacy society is functioning already. A central college
of the chemists and county colleges are also functioning already; they
all could get involved in this great action, the chemists being
interested in the developement of their profession, as it is menaced by
dezorganization. The tendency to support the establishing of a national
museum began to be felt among the chemists since September 1995.

All these conditions related to the material, personnel, opportunity and

inerest from the part of the majority of the chemists make us propose the
establishing of a National Museum of History of the Pharmacy in Bucharest.
The action should commence as soon as possible. This idea has been
launched in the pharmacy environment in September 1996.
Last update: July 13, 1999. web: Cornelia Calin

Pharmacy and the great contribution of Arab-Islamic

science to its development].
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9324574
PMID: 9324574 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Hadzovi S.
20

Abstract

The differentiation and separation of two scientific disciplines, medicine and

pharmacy begins during the 12th century. Each differentiation by itself brings
certain improvement and upgrading but at any level, this happens only when
proper conditions are met. Therefore, in order for pharmacy to appear as a
profession and to promoted to the level of science, certain conditions had to
be met, namely the society and cultural forces had matured to the level of
differentiation of these two disciplines, which have begun existing as
completely independent disciplines in that time.
For the history of pharmacy, it is very important to note the fact that we find
the first beginnings of professional pharmacy among Arabic population. The
first drug stores in the world were established in Arabic world (Baghdad 754).
Considering the fact that Arabs had brought a great deal to pharmaceutical
science and the fact that their search included some 2.000 substances, the
goal of this work was formulated and medicinal herbs used in the treatment
listed.
The forms used that period are still used in the therapy and some
formulations of drugs can be found in pharmacopeas even today. If we add to
these reports the fact that most of the literature appearing in the field was
also of Arabic origin and that many editions and translations of the
pharmaceutical works from Arabic to Latin had been published ever since,
the obvious contribution of Arabic science in the development of pharmacy
becomes even more obvious.
(The FASEB Journal. 2006;20:1581-1586.)
2006 FASEB

Arab science in the golden age (7501258 C.E.) and today

Matthew E. Falagas*,,1, Effie A. Zarkadoulia* and George Samonis
*

Alfa Institute of Biomedical Sciences (AIBS), Athens, Greece;

Department of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA;

and

Department of Medicine, University of Crete School of Medicine, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

Correspondence: Institute of Biomedical Sciences (AIBS), 9 Neapoleos St., Marousi 15123,

Greece. E-mail: m.falagas@aibs.gr

a vast geographic area, comprising many different

countries in Asia and Africa. The contemporary world owes much of its
THE ARAB WORLD COVERS

21

progress in all fields of human intellectual activity, including medicine, to

Arabic culture, especially the advancements made during the Golden Age of
Arabic-Islamic science (8th to 13th centuries C.E.). The glorious historic
background of the Arabic world permits us to identify the debt that humanity
owes to the Golden Age of Arabic science and to evaluate the research
contributions made by Arab countries to biomedical sciences in our own day.
Kelompok 8

THE GOLDEN AGE OF ARAB SCIENCE

The biomedical sciences of the Arabic-Islamic world underwent remarkable
development during the 8th to 13th centuries C.E., a flowering of knowledge
and intellect that later spread throughout Europe and greatly influenced both
medical practice and education. The scientific glory of the Arabic nation
originated on the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century C.E., where the
preaching of the prophet Mohammed united the Arab tribes and inaugurated
the Muslim religion (1) . The Islamic state was formed in 622 C.E., when the
Prophet moved from Mecca to Medina. Within a century after his death (632
C.E.) a large part of the planet, from southern Europe throughout North Africa
to Central Asia and on to India, was controlled by and/or influenced by the
new Arabic-Muslim Empire (1 , 2) . In 711 C.E., Arab Muslims invaded
southern Spain and a center of flourishing civilization (al-Andalus) was
created (1) . Another center emerged in Baghdad from the Abbasids, who
ruled part of the Islamic world during a historic period later characterized as
the "Golden Age" (750 to 1258 C.E.) (3) .
Arguably, many of the achievements of the Islamic-Arabic Golden Age were
based on previous initiatives taken by the ancient Egyptians, Hebrews,
Persians, Greeks, and Romans (1 , 2 , 4) . Hence, translators were invited
to Baghdad, where scientists and researchers studied the past and created
the future. The result of their work was impressive progress in all sectors of
science. The rulers of Islamic Spain, in an attempt to surpass Baghdad,
recruited scholars who made contributions of paramount importance to
science, medicine, technology, philosophy, and art.

WHAT LED TO THE GOLDEN AGE?

"The Golden Age" was based on several factors (5) . Muslims following the
guidelines of the Prophet studied and searched for knowledge (1 , 5 , 6) .
The Quran is clear: "The scholars ink is more sacred than the blood of
martyrs", while the Prophet promoted medical research preaching that "For
every disease, Allah has given a cure." (5) Communication became easier
because the Muslim Empire united extensive geographic areas. Scholars
travelled to teach or share ideas. Furthermore, the Arabic language became
22

a unifying factor (4 , 5) . Translations from Greek, Latin, and Chinese into

Arabic were innumerable, thus removing language barriers for scholars.
During the same period, Arabs learned from the Chinese how to produce
paper and books became more available (5) . Libraries were established in
Cairo, Aleppo, Baghdad, and urban centers in Iran, central Asia, and Spain,
while bookshops with thousands of titles opened in several cities (4 , 5) .
Finally, The House of Wisdom, an academic institution serving as a
university, was established in Baghdad in 1004 C.E. (5) .

ISLAMIC MEDICINE
During that period, Islamic medicine went through impressive developments,
which later influenced medical education and practice in Europe (1 , 2) .
Intense efforts for translation and analysis of the works of Hippocrates, Rufus
of Ephesus, Dioscorides, and Galen took place (1 , 2) . Arab scholars
synthesized and further elaborated the knowledge they had gathered from
ancient manuscripts, adding their own experience. Numerous Arab pioneers
are mentioned in medical history.
Among the most famous are: Yuhanna ibn Massuwayh who performed
dissections and described allergy (4 , 7) ; Abu Bakr Muhummad ibn
Zakariyya ar-Razi (Rhazes) who differentiated smallpox from measles,
described the laryngeal branch of the recurrent nerve, introduced mercurial
ointments and hot moist compresses in surgery, investigated psychosomatic
reactions, and wrote the famous Al-Hawi, a medical encyclopedia of 30
volumes (4 , 7) ;
Az-Zahrawi (Abulcasis), known as the father of surgery, who performed
tracheotomy and lithotomy, introduced the use of cotton and catgut, and
described extra-uterine pregnancy, cancer of the breast, and the sex-linked
inheritance of hemophilia (4 , 7) ;
Ibn Sina (Avicenna) who differentiated meningitis from other neurologic
diseases, described anthrax and tuberculosis, introduced urethral drug
instillation, stressed the importance of hygiene, and dietetics, and the
holistic approach to the patient [his work al-Qanun fil Tibb (The Canon of
Medicine), represented the absolute authority in medicine for 500 years (4 ,
7) ]; Ibn-Zuhr (Avenzoar) who described pericarditis, mediastinitis, and
paralysis of the pharynx, and who pointed out the importance of drugs for
body and soul (4 , 7) ; and Ibn-Nafis who studied and described pulmonary
circulation (4 , 7) .
Progress was apparent in all medical fields, including anatomy, surgery,
anaesthesia, cardiology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, bacteriology, urology,
obstetrics, neurology, psychiatry (including psychotherapy), hygiene,
dietetics, and dentistry (1 , 4 , 7) .
23

EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND SCIENCE

In that era, a thorough system of medical education was created in the ArabMuslim world (1 , 4) . Arabic medical studies consisted of initial training in
such basic sciences as alchemy, pharmacognosy, anatomy, and physiology,
which was followed by clinical training in hospitals, where students
performed physical examinations, attended ward rounds, and clinical
lectures (1 , 2) . Upon completion of training, future physicians were
required to pass oral and practical exams in order to be licensed. Medicine
was not only a profession or science, but also a philosophical attitude based
upon religion and culture, obeying codes of ethics characterizing the
physicians behavior and obligations to patients, colleagues, and the
community (4) .
At the same time, secular hospitals (Bimaristans), developed all over the
Arab world (1) . These were well-organized institutions, run under specific
regulations and directed by physicians (1 , 2) . No sexual, religious, social,
or economic discrimination interfered with patients treatment (1). Detailed
medical records were kept (1) . These hospitals were adequately equipped,
and had both inpatient and outpatient units (1 , 2) . Small, mobile hospital
units were also created to serve distant areas and battle fields (1) . The first
known hospital was established in Damascus in 706 C.E., while the most
important one, located in Baghdad, was established in 982 C.E. (2) .
Kelompok 9

Along with progress in medicine, there were remarkable developments in

pharmacology (1 , 2) . In the 9th century C.E., manuscripts of Dioscurides
and Galen translated from Greek formed the basis of further understanding.
Arab scholars became acquainted with herbs, experimented with
anesthetics, developed techniques such as distillation, crystallization,
solution, and calcinations (1 , 2) and introduced new drugs such as
camphor, senna, musk, alum, sandalwood, ambergris, mercury, aloes, and
aconite. They also developed syrups and juleps, created flavoring extracts
made of rose water, orange or lemon peel, and experimented with poisons
and antidotes (1 , 2 , 4) . The most famous manual was The
Comprehensive Book on Materia Medica and Foodstuffs, an alphabetical
guide to over 1400 simples, written by Ibn al-Baytar (2) . The first
pharmacies were established in Baghdad in 754 C.E. In the 12th century C.E.,
pharmacology was differentiated from medicine and alchemy and became an
independent discipline (1) . The impact of Arabic pharmacology in Europe
was tremendous for centuries. Terms used in everyday pharmacy and
chemistry such as drug, alkali, alcohol, elixir, aldehydes, etc., are derived
from the Arabic (1) .

24

Advances in medical sciences were not an isolated phenomenon. Astonishing

progress was made in astronomy, mathematics, chemistry, and other fields
of science (1 , 6 , 8) . Prominent astronomers were Ibn Firnas, who
constructed a planetarium and reputedly was the first man to fly; Al-Zarqali,
who created a kind of astrolabe for measuring the motion of the stars; AlBitruji, who studied stellar movements; Al-Fargani, who wrote the Elements
on Astronomy; and al-Sufi, who described the Andromeda galaxy.
Mathematics was closely linked to astronomy and almost every
mathematician was also an astronomer (8) . Arithmetic, algebra, geometry,
and trigonometry flourished. Famous geometricians were Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf,
who first translated Euclids Elements; and Muhammad and Hasan Banu
Musa, who wrote books on the measurement of the sphere and trisection of
angles and who discovered kinematical methods of drawing ellipses (8) .
Among arithmeticians and algebraists, al-Khwarazmi was considered the
greatest. He obtained data from Greeks and Hindus and transmitted
arithmetical and algebraic knowledge, which exerted great influence upon
medieval mathematics (8) . Finally, trigonometry was developed along with
astronomy with important representatives such as Ahmad al-Nahawandi, AlKhwarizmi, Habash al-Hasib, Yahya ibn abi Mansur, and Sanad ibn Ali (8) . In
the field of chemistry, Jabir Ibn Haiyan introduced the meaning of
experimentation, leading from alchemy to modern chemistry.
Additionally, the Golden Age was characterized by technological,
architectural, and artistic achievements (Figs. 1 and 2) . Methods for
irrigation including underground channels, windmills, and waterwheels were
some of the Arabic inventions (6 , 9) , while even today Arab architectural
miracles and unique objects of art can be admired in many countries, with
many of the best examples in southern Spain.

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25

Figure 1. Pottery cup depicting a leopard. Fatimid period, Egypt (11th century
C.E.). Diameter: 20.4 cm. From the Islamic collection of the Benakis Museum,
Athens, Greece (printed with permission).

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Figure 2. Glass cup. Egypt, Syria, or Iraq (9th10th century C.E.). Height: 10
cm. From the Islamic collection of the Benakis Museum, Athens, Greece
(printed with permission).
Unfortunately, decline is an historical phenomenon observed in all times and
cultures, and the Arabic-Islamic world was no exception. From the 9th
century C.E., several provinces had already started to fall away from Abbasid
control and in the next four centuries the political power of the Empire was
dispersed among new independent states (6) . Around the 12th century
C.E., the Abbasid Empire became weak, marking the beginning of the end (1
, 9) . Turks played a major role. Turkish soldiers, who first reinforced the
Empire after 861 C.E., undermined the central authority (6) . While the
Abbasid Caliphate was disintegrating, the Seljuk Caliphate was beginning in
1057 C.E. By then the Empire had lost unity and power due to religious
differences, charges of heresy, and assassinations. Along with the internal
pressures, the European Crusades (10971291 C.E.) further weakened the
Muslim Empire (9) . Finally, in 1236, Cordoba fell to Spanish Christians (5)
and in 1258, Baghdad fell to Mongols (1 , 5) .
Kelompok 10

ARAB SCIENCE TODAY

To document the contributions of Arab countries to science today, we
performed a bibliometric evaluation of the current biomedical research
productivity in Arab countries, updating the relevant literature (10 , 11) by
analyzing data of the last decade and expanding on the issue with the use of
various methods of measuring research output and the inclusion of more
Arab countries. Although bibliometric analyses have several limitations, such
as the inclusion of only a proportion of journals in indexing databases (12 ,
13) , the results of our study offer useful data about the biomedical research
26

productivity in Arab countries during the last decade. The research

productivity of 23 Arab countries was evaluated by three different methods.
First, by using the PubMed search engine, we identified the number of
biomedical articles in which the first authors address was in one of the Arab
countries for the period 19942003. We used a methodology similar to other
bibliometric studies performed by our group (14) .
In addition, the total number of articles originating from all Arab countries
was calculated and compared with worldwide productivity. This method
included the use of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Essential
Science Indicators (ESI) database. The ESI database provides science trends
and statistical information derived from other ISI databases. At the time of
our analysis (April 2005) a total of 4941 journals were included in the ESI
database and were categorized into 22 broad scientific fields for the 10-year
period 19952004. We focused our search on nine biomedical scientific
fields: biology and biochemistry, clinical medicine, immunology,
microbiology, molecular biology and genetics, multidisciplinary, neuroscience
and behavior, psychiatry / psychology, and pharmacology and toxicology.
Data in the ESI database is organized in various ways, including national
rankings for research productivity in the above scientific fields. Thus, data
pertaining to the total number of publications, total number of citations, as
well as to the number of citations per paper for the examined 10-year period,
was collected and evaluated for each of the 23 Arab countries. Some Arab
countries did not have data in the ESI rankings because they did not pass the
needed cumulative citation count threshold as set by ESI.
We also evaluated articles published in the top 50 clinical medicine journals
as categorized in the ESI database, sorted on the basis of the number of
citations per paper. Then, by making use of the ISI Web of Science "advanced
search" tool, we identified articles in these journals in which at least one
author had an address in an Arab country. We analyzed data on original
articles only, excluding publication types such as letters, editorials, and news
items. In order to adjust for confounders that affect research productivity,
the average population and gross domestic product (GDP) for each country
during the study period were calculated from data obtained from the online
World Bank databases (15) .
Raw and adjusted indicators for the biomedical research productivity of the
Arab world during the last 10 years are shown in Table 1 . The last two
columns present data adjusted for population size and GDP. Researchers
from Saudi Arabia published the largest number of articles. However, when
adjustments for population and GDP were made, Kuwait and Jordan,
respectively, were the most productive. Looking at the cumulative indices of
scientific production of the Arab countries, one may notice that although the
population of these countries represented 4.6% of the global population and
had 1.4% of the global GDP during the study period, they produced 0.5% of
27

the biomedical research indexed in the PubMed database and 0.1% of the
articles published in the top 50 clinical medicine journals. Only 30 articles
from those published in the top 50 clinical medicine journals during the
period 19942004 originated exclusively from Arab countries, whereas in 254
others there was also participation of authors from non-Arab countries [in
146, authors from the USA; and in 112, authors from Western Europe (there
were co-authors from the USA, Western Europe, and Arab countries in some
papers)].
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Table 1. Raw and adjusted indicators for biomedical research productivity of
Arab countries
Most Arab countries located in the African continent produced less research,
in absolute or adjusted numbers, than the majority of non-African Arab
countries. Although researchers from Egypt and Morocco published a
relatively large number of papers and received a good number of citations
compared to researchers from other Arab countries, they ranked lower when
the data for research productivity were adjusted for population and GDP.
Data regarding the number of articles indexed in PubMed, in which the first
authors address was in an Arab country, for the years 19942003 are
presented in Table 2 . As shown, there was a continuous increase in the
number of articles originating from Arab countries. In 1994 these articles
represented 0.4% of the total articles indexed in PubMed, whereas this figure
was 0.6% for 2003.
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Table 2. Number of articles indexed in PubMed for each Arab country during
the years 19942003

ON TO THE FUTURE
Biomedical research is important not only because of its direct significance
for the health and well being of humans, but also because of the great
economic advantages it affords. We are persuaded that the scientific
community as well as the public and private funding organizations of Arab
countries share the responsibility of increasing the funding for biomedical
research and for improving the research infrastructure of each Arab country.
Also, increased collaboration between Arab countries and their neighbours
28

will offer a considerable benefit to those involved. Moreover, wealthy nations

and regions, such as the USA and Europe, have the responsibility to assist
Arab countries in their efforts to increase research productivity. This may be
accomplished by incorporating well-trained Arab scientists in international
research networks, and by helping them to stay in their home countries, thus
increasing the local research productivity. Arabs have a long history of
contribution to science, especially during the Arabic-Islamic Golden Age.
However, political, social and economic problems have hampered scientists
in Arab countries, making is difficult to optimize their capacity in research
productivity in most scientific fields.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Ioannis A. Bliziotis, M.D. and Evi Papastamataki, R.N. for their help
with data collection and analysis and Elpis Mantadakis, M.D. for reviewing
the manuscript. M.E.F designed the study, supervised data collection and
analysis, and wrote the bibliometric part of the paper. E.A.Z. and G.S. wrote
the part of the paper regarding the Islamic Golden Age. M.E.F. is guarantor.

FOOTNOTES
The opinions expressed in editorials, essays, letters to the editor, and other
articles comprising the Up Front section are those of the authors and do not
necessarily reflect the opinions of FASEB or its constituent societies. The
FASEB Journal welcomes all points of view and many voices. We look forward
to hearing these in the form of op-ed pieces and/or letters from its readers
addressed to journals@faseb.org

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