Something New at the Apothecary Shop

The purpose of these readings is to discuss the developments in pain relief that were going on at the time aspirin was invented. Three developments are discussed: the refinement of active compounds from natural sources, such as the isolation of morphine from opium; the synthesis of the first wholly artificial drugs; and finally the proliferation of quack patent medicines in the late 1800s in the United States. The first two developments are intended to show how modern medicines come from a variety of sources, both natural and artificial. The reading on patent medicines is included to demonstrate the difficulty in finding a good pain reliever when apothecary shelves were crowded with bogus medicines, as well as to demonstrate the need for testing and oversight of products claimed to have healing properties.

In addition to the readings, this segment includes an interactive page called Drugs: The Big Picture. Here the students see a chart dividing drugs into four categories: natural drugs, synthetic versions of natural drugs, adaptations of natural drugs, and wholly synthetic drugs. When the student clicks on any of the categories, a pop-up box appears explaining the nature of drugs in the category and listing real examples of drugs in that category.

The Student Readings

Something New at the Apothecary Shop
Refined Natural Drugs
Synthetic Drugs
Snake Oil