April 10: Pharmacy Fun Fact

Which ancient pharmacist created procedures that still influence today’s modern compounding practices?

Answer: Galen of Pergamon!

This ancient Roman physician lived from approximately 129-216 AD, and his work has lasted through the centuries thanks to his prolific writing. Galen’s writings focused on novel techniques to identify and cure various illnesses, and although some of his anatomical research proved to be inaccurate, a lot of his beliefs about diagnosis and assessment of illnesses are still used today.

For example, Galen was one of the first to pay close attention to the pulse and use it to diagnose some diseases. Similarly, he was the first to prove that urine forms in the kidneys instead of the bladder, and he was thus able to diagnose some diseases based on urine analysis. He also identified 7 of the 12 cranial nerves, and was one of the first to argue that some physical symptoms can be caused by psychological illnesses.

REFERENCE

Galen — Biography. Famous Scientists; https://www.famousscientists.org/galen/. Accessed April 9, 2020.

Stay tuned each week for our Friday Pharmacy Fun Facts! Impress your friends and colleagues with useful facts about the history of pharmacy, inventions created by pharmacists, and more. If you have a fun fact to contribute, email AAntrim@pharmacytimes.com, and it may be included!