The history of pharmacy as a modern and independent science dates back to the first third of the 19th century. Before then, pharmacy evolved from antiquity as part of medicine. The history of pharmacy coincides well with the history of medicine, but it's important that there is a distinction between the two topics. Pharmaceuticals is one of the most-researched fields in the academic industry, but the history surrounding that particular topic is sparse compared to the impact its made world-wide. Before the advent of pharmacists, there existed apothecaries that worked alongside priests and physicians in regard to patient care.
Pharmacy in Rome, Italy
Dioscorides, De Materia Medica, Byzantium, 15th century
Roman herbal medicine guidebook De Materia Medica of Dioscorides. Cumin & dill. c. 1334.
Illustration of a pharmacy in the Italian Tacuinum sanitatis, 14th century.
Apothecary is an archaic English term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica (medicine) to physicians, surgeons and patients. The modern terms 'pharmacist' and 'chemist' have taken over this role.
An apothecary in the 15th century
A 15th-century French apothecary (at right)
Interior of an apothecary's shop. Illustration from Illustrated History of Furniture, From the Earliest to the Present Time from 1893 by Frederick Litchfield (1850–1930).
The Lady Apothecary, by Alfred Jacob Miller (between 1825 and 1870). Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.
