Apothecary

Apothecary (/əˈpɒθəkəri/) is an archaic English term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica (medicine) to physicians, surgeons and patients.

[1] In addition to dispensing herbs and medicine, apothecaries offered general medical advice and a range of services that are now performed by other specialist practitioners, such as surgeons and obstetricians.

[5] In some European and other languages, the term is current and used to designate a pharmacist/chemist, such as Dutch and German Apotheker,[6] Hungarian patikus, Irish poitigéir, Latvian aptiekārs and Luxembourgish Apdikter.

[15][16] In ancient India, the Sushruta Samhita, a compendium on the practice of medicine and medical formulations, has been traced back to the 1st century BC.

[24] By the end of the 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1342–1400) was mentioning an English apothecary in the Canterbury Tales, specifically "The Nun's Priest's Tale" as Pertelote speaks to Chauntecleer (lines 181–184): ... and for ye shal nat tarie, Though in this toun is noon apothecarie, I shal myself to herbes techen yow, That shul been for youre hele and for youre prow.

Because of their eventual spread to urban society, these religious women gained "roles of public significance beyond the spiritual realm (Strocchia 627).

[32] In 1865 Elizabeth Garrett Anderson became the first woman to be licensed to practice medicine in Britain by passing the examination of the Society of Apothecaries.

[34] In German-speaking countries, such as Germany, Austria and Switzerland, pharmacies or chemist stores are still called apothecaries or in German Apotheken.

[35] Magdalena Neff became the first woman to gain a medical qualification in Germany when she studied pharmacy at the Technical University of Karlsruhe and later passed the apothecary's examination in 1906.

[38] Apothecary businesses were typically family-run, and wives or other women of the family worked alongside their husbands in the shops, learning the trade themselves.

Many recipes for medicines included herbs, minerals, and pieces of animals (meats, fats, skins) that were ingested, made into paste for external use, or used as aromatherapy.

[40] Many other ingredients used in the past such as urine, fecal matter, earwax, human fat, and saliva, are no longer used and are generally considered ineffective or unsanitary.