Pharmacy Log - Pharmaceuticals

Nokia E61i

2010-05-17T06:03:00.001-07:00

Acum vreo cateva luni (mai precis 3 luni) am plecat pana la Deva sa imi iau telefonul mobil despre care vorbesc acum. De ce am mers pana acolo ? Pentru ca era mult mai bun decat vechiul telefon si il dadea foarte ieftin. Plus ca nu mai iesisem de ceva vreme din judetul Timis, asa ca vroiam sa mai schimb peisajul. Am stat putin la Deva, dar s-a meritat. Telefonul care l-am luat, mai exact Nokia E61i s-a dovedit a fi foarte util fie ca aveam ceva de lucru si nu aveam laptopul la indemana, fie ca vroiam sa ascult muzica sau sa fac ceva poze de prin natura.
In cele 3 luni de cand il am si-a facut pe deplin treaba, bateria tine mai mult de 4 zile in cazul in care nu il folosesti foarte mult. Daca il folosesti vreo 2-3 ore pe zi (cumulat), iti tine bateria vreo 2-3 zile. Si asa decent.
Eu l-am incercat si a meritat. Ai avut vreodata Nokia E61i ?

Linku' de 1 mai

2010-05-01T08:31:00.000-07:00

Pentru ca tot este 1 mai si e ziua muncii, ma plictisesc. Afara e o caldura molesitoare, noroc cu camera in care
De pe Harta Turistului am cateva materiale pentru voi: Harta Simleul Silvaniei, Harta Zalau, Harta Jibou, Harta Cehu Silvaniei si un material interesant despre una dintre cele mai mici tari din Africa, mai exact Djibouti.

De pe Ora Sportiva avem cateva meciuri (mai bine zis am o groaza de meciuri de vineri seara) de vineri seara, 30 Aprilie 2010:
Din Franta: Auxerre - Marseille 0-0
Din Copa Libertadores: Once Caldas - Club Liberdad 0-0 si Alianza Lima - Universidad de Chile 0-1
Din Argentina: River Plate - Velez 2-1, Tigre - Racing Club 1-2, Rosario - Godoy Cruz 1-0 si Gimnasia La Plata - Lanus 0-0
Din Rusia: Anzhi Makhachkala - Krylya Sovetov 0-0
Din Ucraina: Vorskla - Arsenal Kiev 1-5 si Metalurg Doneth - Zorya Luhansk 0-0
Din Belgia: Zulte Waregem - Anderlecht 0-0
Din Cehia: Slovacko - Mlada Boleslav 1-0
Din Austria: Rapid Viena - Kapfenberger 5-3
Si binenteles si cele 2 meciuri disputate aseara in Liga 1: Astra - CFR Cluj 1-0 si Gloria Bistrita - Pandurii Targu Jiu 1-0

Nu am terminat cu linkurile inca, trebuie sa va mai dau si ceva linkuri de health si anatomie de pe PhysioAnatomy nu ? Pentru ziua de 1 mai avem doar 2 linkuri, una legata de efectele alcoolului asupra organismului si despre primul ajutor in plagi.

Pharmacology - Treating Cancer (Armitage)

2010-01-20T12:47:00.000-08:00

Two major areas are considered in this discussion of pharmacologic strategies for high-dose therapy (HDT). The first is the rational basis for the selection of the chemotherapeutic agents to be used in myeloablative regimens for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. The second is the use of pharmacokinetic measurements and dose adjustment to ensure adequate antitumor and myeloablative effect while avoiding drug exposures that produce intolerable toxicity.

INITIAL HIGH-DOSE REGIMENS

The initial type of marrow transplant developed was allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (ALBMT). The two purposes of the preparative chemotherapeutic regimen for ALBMT are to sufficiently eradicate the endogenous marrow to allow complete engraftment of the allogenic marrow being infused and to eradicate the tumor either completely or to a sufficient degree to allow the complete eradication of persisting tumor by an immune response to the residual tumor. That the immune response can fulfill such a role is indicated by the better long-term tumor-free survival in patients undergoing ALBMT as opposed to autologous bone marrow transplantation using the same preparative regimens for lymphomas and leukemias. This experience has also established the paradigm of the combination of chemotherapy followed by immunotherapy for tumor eradication. Recently, the concept of “transplant-lite” has been introduced by Khouri et al. This concept utilizes relatively nontoxic regimens, such as fludarabine phosphate (Fludara) and a modest dose of cyclophosphamide, or fludarabine, cisplatin (Platinol), and cytarabine (Cytosar-U) to produce sufficient immunosuppression for engraftment of an allogeneic stem cell infusion from HLA-identical siblings.
The first agent used for BMT for malignancy was total-body irradiation (TBI) alone . While TBI eradicated the endogenous marrow, it was insufficient to eradicate the leukemias being treated. High-dose cyclophosphamide was also initially used as a single agent but did not consistently eradicate the endogenous marrow or the leukemia in patients. The combinations of high-dose cyclophosphamide plus TBI or high-dose cyclophosphamide plus the alkylating agent busulfan (Myleran) soon became the two most common regimens for ALBMT for leukemias, as well as for lymphomas. Cyclophosphamide and busulfan have also been used successfully for HDT and autotransplant for leukemias, lymphomas, and solid tumors.

Masks against AH1N1

2009-11-11T06:09:00.000-08:00

Well, there were reported a lot of cases of AH1N1 flu virus in Romania in the latest months and because people are scared of this virus, they've started buying masks. The producers made a lot of profit of it, but now the health system stuck their noses, saying that those masks aren't good and they recomand to buy just the masks from pharmacies.

A smart move, but also stupid. And because the population is to scared from a virus and they bought all the masks in the pharmacies, puting their stocks outmost on 0. So the dealers are back on market and they are selling those masks on overprice. Smart move...

Antiperspirants on pharmacies

2009-11-10T12:32:00.000-08:00

I've saw a lot of farmacies that sold antiperspirants lately. I didn't knew why when i saw it the first time, but now i know. Apparently there is a new antiperspirant that have some good qualities for skin: antiperspirant maxim.

And because of the skin thing they sell them in pharmacies and drugstores and apparently they gain some profit of it.

What do you know about it ? Did you tried it?

What is biotechnology?

2009-11-08T04:27:00.000-08:00

Biotechnology, in its most general meaning, is the use of biologic processes to create a product for human use and benefit. Today, when people use the term biotechnology, we usually think they mean the application of modern methods of manipulation of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), the genetic information of an organism, to make a product. In fact, biotechnology is ancient, providing the basis for making a wide range of products, including bread, cheese, beer, and wine. These early forms of biotechnology relied on fermentation, the breakdown by microorganisms of organic molecules, particularly sugars, into simpler compounds, often CO2 (carbon dioxide). In practice, fermentation involves holding the material under conditions that allow the microorganisms to increase in number, and to change the original material through chemical reactions inside the cells. The starting material in fermentation can be bread dough, made of flour, water, and yeast, or grape juice plus yeast.

To make bread, after the dough is kneaded to make the gluten (flour protein) stringy, the dough is kept at a warm temperature to allow the yeast cells to multiply in number. The yeast cells need energy to grow, so they break down sugars in the flour to CO2, creating pockets of gas. This gas makes the dough rise. When the bread is baked, the gluten dries out and the bread is filled with many small holes. Wine makers grow yeast submerged in liquid grape pressings.
This deprives the yeast of oxygen so that it produces ethanol as a waste product when it metabolizes sugar. A slightly more complicated process is used to make beer, but the principle also involves growing yeast cells without oxygen so that they produce ethanol as they make energy. Cheese is also made through biotechnology. Rennin, a protein found in the stomachs of young cows, is added to milk to make cheese. (Today, rennin is usually made with modern biotechnology
methods.) The rennin breaks down casein, the major protein of milk, into small pieces. Then, cheese makers add bacteria to milk to convert (ferment) the lactose sugar in the milk to acid, which causes the casein fragments to curdle, making them form semi-solid lumps. The flavor of cheese becomes more intense as it ages, and the flavors concentrate. Adding certain molds during the aging process turns cheese blue in color.

Biotechnology in few words

2009-11-08T04:22:00.000-08:00

Biotechnology, the use of biological organisms and processes to provide useful products in industry and medicine, is as old as cheese making and as modern as creating a plant-based energy cell or the newest treatment for diabetes. Everyday, newspaper articles proclaim a new application for biotechnology. Often, the media
raises alarms about the potential for new kinds of biotechnology to harm the environment or challenges our ethical values. As a result of conflicting information, sorting through the headlines can be a daunting task. These books are designed to allow you to do just that—by providing the right tools to help you to make better educated judgments.

The new biotechnologies share with the old a focus on helping people lead better, safer, and healthier lives. Older biotechnologies, such as making wine, brewing beer, and even making bread, were based on generations of people perfecting accidental discoveries.

The new biotechnologies are built on the explosion of discoveries made over the last 75 years about how living things work. In particular, how cells use genetic material to direct the production of proteins that compose them, and provide the engines used to produce energy needed to keep them alive. These discoveries have
allowed scientists to become genetic engineers, enabling them to move genes from one living organism to another and change the proteins made by the new organism, whether it is a bacterium, plant, mouse, or even a human.

Pharmacology - Drug Development (part 2)

2009-10-28T04:18:00.000-07:00

Clinical testing starts with Phase I studies on healthy subjects and seeks to determine whether effects observed in animal experiments also occur in humans. Dose-response relationships are determined. In Phase II, potential drugs are first tested on selected patients for therapeutic efficacy in those disease states for which they are intended.

Should a beneficial action be evident and the incidence of adverse effects be
acceptably small, Phase III is entered, involving a larger group of patients in
whom the new drug will be compared with standard treatments in terms of therapeutic outcome. As a form of human experimentation, these clinical trials are subject to review and approval by institutional ethics committees according to international codes of conduct (Declarations of Helsinki, Tokyo and Venice). During clinical testing, many drugs are revealed to be unusable. Ultimately, only one new drug remains from approximately 10,000 newly synthesized substances. The decision to approve a new drug is made by a national regulatory body (Food & Drug Administration in the U.S.A., the Health Protection Branch Drugs Directorate in Canada, UK, Europe, Australia) to which manufacturers are required to submit their applications. Applicants must document by means of appropriate test data (from preclinical and clinical trials) that the criteria of efficacy and safety have been
met and that product forms (tablet, capsule, etc.) satisfy general standards of quality control.

Following approval, the new drug may be marketed under a trade name
(p. 333) and thus become available for prescription by physicians and dispensing by pharmacists. As the drug gains more widespread use, regulatory surveillance continues in the form of post-licensing studies (Phase IV of clinical trials). Only on the basis of long-term experience will the risk: benefit ratio be properly assessed and, thus, the therapeutic value of the new drug be determined.

Pharmacology - Drug Development (part 1)

2009-10-28T04:14:00.000-07:00

This process starts with the synthesis of novel chemical compounds. Substances with complex structures may be obtained from various sources, e.g., plants (cardiac glycosides), animal tissues (heparin), microbial cultures (penicillin G), or human cells (urokinase), or by means of gene technology (human insulin). As more insight is gained into structure-activity relationships, the search for new agents becomes more clearly focused.

Preclinical testing yields information on the biological effects of new substances. Initial screening may employ

biochemical-pharmacological investigations (e.g., receptor-binding assays p. 56) or experiments on cell cultures, isolated cells, and isolated organs. Sincethese models invariably fall short of replicating complex biological processes in the intact organism, any potential drug must be tested in the whole animal. Only animal experiments can reveal whether the desired effects will actually occur at dosages that produce little or no toxicity. Toxicological investigations serve to evaluate the potential for:

(1) toxicity associated with acute or chronic administration;

(2) genetic damage (genotoxicity, mutagenicity);

(3) production of tumors (onco- or carcinogenicity);

(4) causation of birth defects (teratogenicity).

In animals, compounds under investigation also have to be studied with respect to their absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination (pharmacokinetics). Even at the level of preclinical testing, only a very small fraction of new compounds will prove potentially fit for use in humans. Pharmaceutical technology provides the methods for drug formulation.

Pharmacology History - Today (Status Quo)

2009-10-26T05:47:00.000-07:00

After 1920, pharmacological laboratories sprang up in the pharmaceutical industry, outside established university institutes. After 1960, departments of clinical pharmacology were set up at many universities and in industry.

Drug and Active Principle

Until the end of the 19th century, medicines were natural organic or inorganic products, mostly dried, but also fresh, plants or plant parts. These might contain substances possessing healing (therapeutic) properties or substances exerting a toxic effect. In order to secure a supply of medically useful products not merely at the
time of harvest but year-round, plants were preserved by drying or soaking them in vegetable oils or alcohol.

Drying the plant or a vegetable or animal product yielded a drug (from French “drogue” – dried herb). Colloquially, this term nowadays often refers to chemical substances with high potential for physical dependence and abuse. Used scientifically, this term implies nothing about the quality of action, if any. In its original, wider sense, drug could refer equally well to the dried leaves of peppermint, dried lime blossoms, dried flowers and leaves of the female cannabis plant (hashish, marijuana), or the dried milky exudate obtained by slashing the unripe seed capsules of Papaver somniferum (raw opium). Nowadays, the term is applied quite generally to a chemical substance that is used for pharmacotherapy. Soaking plants parts in alcohol (ethanol) creates a tincture. In this process, pharmacologically active constituents of the plant are extracted by the alcohol. Tinctures do not contain the complete spectrum of substances that exist in the plant or crude drug, only those that are soluble in alcohol. In the case of opium tincture, these ingredients are alkaloids (i.e., basic substances of plant origin) including: morphine, codeine, narcotine = noscapine, papaverine, narceine, and others. Using a natural product or extract to treat a disease thus usually entails the
administration of a number of substances possibly possessing very different activities. Moreover, the dose of an individual constituent contained within a given amount of the natural product is subject to large variations, depending upon the product‘s geographical origin (biotope), time of harvesting, or conditions and length of storage. For the same reasons, the relative proportion of individual constituents may vary considerably.
Starting with the extraction of morphine from opium in 1804 by F. W. Sertürner (1783–1841), the active principles of many other natural products were subsequently isolated in chemically pure form by pharmaceutical laboratories.

The aims of isolating active principles are:
1. Identification of the active ingredient(s).
2. Analysis of the biological effects (pharmacodynamics) of individual ingredients and of their fate in the body
(pharmacokinetics).
3. Ensuring a precise and constant dosage in the therapeutic use of chemically pure constituents.
4. The possibility of chemical synthesis, which would afford independence from limited natural supplies and create conditions for the analysis of structure-activity relationships. Finally, derivatives of the original constituent may be synthesized in an effort to optimize pharmacological properties. Thus, derivatives of the original constituent with improved therapeutic usefulness may be developed.

Pharmacology History - Recognition

2009-10-26T05:38:00.000-07:00

Oswald Schmiedeberg (1838–1921), together with his many disciples (12 of whom were appointed to chairs of pharmacology), helped to establish the high reputation of pharmacology. Fundamental concepts such as structure-activity relationship, drug receptor, and selective toxicity emerged from the work of, respectively, T. Frazer (1841–1921) in Scotland, J. Langley (1852–1925) in England, and P. Ehrlich (1854–1915) in Germany. Alexander J. Clark (1885–1941) in England first formalized receptor theory in the early 1920s by applying the Law of Mass Action to drug-receptor interactions. Together with the internist, Bernhard Naunyn (1839–1925), Schmiedeberg founded the first journal of pharmacology, which has since been published without interruption. The “Father of American Pharmacology”, John J. Abel (1857–1938) was among the first
Americans to train in Schmiedeberg‘s laboratory and was founder of the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (published from 1909 until the present).

Pharmacology History - Foundation

2009-10-26T05:28:00.000-07:00

Rudolf Buchheim (1820–1879) founded the first institute of pharmacology at the University of Dorpat (Tartu, Estonia) in 1847, ushering in pharmacology as an independent scientific discipline. In addition to a description of effects, he strove to explain the chemical properties of drugs.

“The science of medicines is a theoretical, i.e., explanatory, one. It is to provide us with knowledge by which our judgement about the utility of medicines can be validated at the bedside.”

Pharmacology History - The Early Begining

2009-10-26T05:27:00.000-07:00

Johann Jakob Wepfer (1620–1695) was the first to verify by animal experimentation assertions about pharmacological or toxicological actions.

“I pondered at length. Finally I resolved to clarify the matter by experiments.”

Pharmacology History - The Impetus

2009-10-26T05:25:00.000-07:00

Theophrastus von Hohenheim (1493–1541 A.D.), called Paracelsus, began to quesiton doctrines handed down from antiquity, demanding knowledge of the active ingredient(s) in prescribed remedies, while rejecting the irrational concoctions and mixtures of medieval medicine.

He prescribed chemically defined substances with such success that professional enemies had him prosecuted
as a poisoner. Against such accusations, he defended himself with the thesis that has become an axiom of pharmacology:

“If you want to explain any poison properly, what then isn‘t a poison? All things are poison, nothing is without poison; the dose alone causes a thing not to be poison.”

Pharmacology History - The Idea

2009-10-26T05:19:00.000-07:00

Medicaments have been used for treating disease in humans and animals. The herbals of antiquity describe the therapeutic powers of certain plants and minerals. Belief in the curative powers of plants and certain substances rested exclusively upon traditional knowledge, that is, empirical information not subjected to critical examination.

Claudius Galen (129–200 A.D.) first attempted to consider the theoretical background of pharmacology. Both theory and practical experience were to contribute equally to the rational use of medicines through interpretation of observed and experienced results.

“The empiricists say that all is found by experience. We, however, maintain that it is found in part by experience, in part by theory. Neither experience nor theory alone is apt to discover all.”

US Group sues Bayer over multivitamin claims

2009-10-13T10:49:00.001-07:00

A U.S. public advocacy group has sued Bayer AG over the company's prostate cancer marketing claims for the drugmaker's One A Day multivitamin for men.

The suit, filed by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) on September 30 and announced on Thursday, challenges Bayer's promotion of the vitamin's selenium ingredient as a way to "support prostate health" and "reduce the risk of prostate cancer."

Such claims were made on the drugmaker's website, advertising and product label, the group said.
The suit, filed in Superior Court in San Francisco, said such claims are false because selenium -- a trace mineral -- "may actually cause harm to consumers," CSPI said in its lawsuit.
Representatives for Bayer had no immediate commen

Pharmacy Images around the world

2009-10-12T07:33:00.000-07:00

Pharmacy images around the world:

What is pharmacy?

2009-10-12T07:29:00.000-07:00

Pharmacy (from the Greek φάρμακον 'pharmakon' = drug) is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences, and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of medication.

The scope of pharmacy practice includes more traditional roles such as compounding and dispensing medications, and it also includes more modern services related to patient care, including clinical services, reviewing medications for safety and efficacy, and providing drug information. Pharmacists, therefore, are the experts on drug therapy and are the primary health professionals who optimize medication use to provide patients with positive health outcomes. Pharmacy is also the term for an establishment where pharmacy (in the first sense) is practised (synonym: drugstore). The first pharmacy in Europe (still working) was opened in 1241 in Trier, Germany.

The word pharmacy is derived from its root word pharma which was a term used since the 1400–1600s. In addition to pharma responsibilities, the pharma offered general medical advice and a range of services that are now performed solely by other specialist practitioners, such as surgery and midwifery. The pharma (as it was referred to) often operated through a retail shop which, in addition to ingredients for medicines, sold tobacco and patent medicines. The pharmas also used many other herbs not listed.

In its investigation of herbal and chemical ingredients, the work of the pharma may be regarded as a precursor of the modern sciences of chemistry and pharmacology, prior to the formulation of the scientific method.

Disciplines of Pharmacy

2009-10-11T07:29:00.000-07:00

The field of Pharmacy can generally be divided into three primary disciplines:

* Pharmaceutics
* Medicinal chemistry and Pharmacognosy
* Pharmacy practice

The boundaries between these disciplines and with other sciences, such as biochemistry, are not always clear-cut; and often, collaborative teams from various disciplines research together.

Pharmacology is sometimes considered a fourth discipline of pharmacy. Although pharmacology is essential to the study of pharmacy, it is not specific to pharmacy. Therefore it is usually considered to be a field of the broader sciences.

Other specializations in pharmacy practice recognized by the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties include: cardiovascular, infectious disease, oncology, pharmacotherapy, nuclear, nutrition, and psychiatry.[1] The Commission for Certification in Geriatric Pharmacy certifies pharmacists in geriatric pharmacy practice. The American Board of Applied Toxicology certifies pharmacists and other medical professionals in applied toxicology.

History of Pharmacy

2009-10-10T07:29:00.000-07:00

Paleopharmacological studies attest to the use of medicinal plants in pre-history.

The earliest known compilation of medicinal substances was ARIANA the Sushruta Samhita, an Indian Ayurvedic treatise attributed to Sushruta in the 6th century BC. However, the earliest text as preserved dates to the 3rd or 4th century AD.

Many Sumerian (late 6th millennium BC - early 2nd millennium BC) cuneiform clay tablets record prescriptions for medicine.

Ancient Egyptian pharmacological knowledge was recorded in various papyri such as the Ebers Papyrus of 1550 BC, and the Edwin Smith Papyrus of the 16th century BC.

The earliest known Chinese manual on materia medica is the Shennong Bencao Jing (The Divine Farmer's Herb-Root Classic), dating back to the 1st century AD. It was compiled during the Han dynasty and was attributed to the mythical Shennong. Earlier literature included lists of prescriptions for specific ailments, exemplified by a manuscript "Recipes for 52 Ailments", found in the Mawangdui tomb, sealed in 168 BC. Further details on Chinese pharmacy can be found in the Pharmacy in China article.

The Greek physician Pedanius Dioscorides is famous for writing a five volume book in his native Greek Περί ύλης ιατρικής in the 1st century AD. The Latin translation De Materia Medica (Concerning medical substances) was used a basis for many medieval texts, and was built upon by many middle eastern scientists during the Islamic Golden Age. The title coined the term materia medica.

In Japan, at the end of the Asuka period (538-710) and the early Nara period (710-794), the men who fulfilled roles similar to those of modern pharmacists were highly respected. The place of pharmacists in society was expressly defined in the Taihō Code (701) and re-stated in the Yōrō Code (718). Ranked positions in the pre-Heian Imperial court were established; and this organizational structure remained largely intact until the Meiji Restoration (1868). In this highly stable hierarchy, the pharmacists—and even pharmacist assistants—were assigned status superior to all others in health-related fields such as physicians and acupuncturists. In the Imperial household, the pharmacist was even ranked above the two personal physicians of the Emperor.

There is a stone sign for a pharmacy with a tripod, a mortar, and a pestle opposite one for a doctor in the Arcadian Way in Ephesus near Kusadasi in Turkey. http://www.pbase.com/tsechien/ephesus_ has photos. The current Ephesus dates back to 400BC and was the site of the Temple of Artemis one of the seven wonders of the world, the home of Mark Anthony and Cleopatra, Mary Magdalen and where St Paul read his letter to the Ephesians.

In Baghdad the first pharmacies were established in 754 under the Abbasid Caliphate during the Islamic Golden Age. By the 9th century, these pharmacies were state-regulated.

The advances in made in the Middle East in botany and chemistry led medicine in medieval Islam substantially to develop pharmacology. Muhammad ibn Zakarīya Rāzi (Rhazes) (865-915), for instance, acted to promote the medical uses of chemical compounds. Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (Abulcasis) (936-1013) pioneered the preparation of medicines by sublimation and distillation. His Liber servitoris is of particular interest, as it provides the reader with recipes and explains how to prepare the `simples’ from which were compounded the complex drugs then generally used. Sabur Ibn Sahl (d 869), was, however, the first physician to initiate pharmacopoedia, describing a large variety of drugs and remedies for ailments. Al-Biruni (973-1050) wrote one of the most valuable Islamic works on pharmacology entitled Kitab al-Saydalah (The Book of Drugs), where he gave detailed knowledge of the properties of drugs and outlined the role of pharmacy and the functions and duties of the pharmacist. Ibn Sina (Avicenna), too, described no less than 700 preparations, their properties, mode of action and their indications. He devoted in fact a whole volume to simple drugs in The Canon of Medicine. Of great impact were also the works by al-Maridini of Baghdad and Cairo, and Ibn al-Wafid (1008-1074), both of which were printed in Latin more than fifty times, appearing as De Medicinis universalibus et particularibus by `Mesue' the younger, and the Medicamentis simplicibus by `Abenguefit'. Peter of Abano (1250-1316) translated and added a supplement to the work of al-Maridini under the title De Veneris. Al-Muwaffaq’s contributions in the field are also pioneering. Living in the 10th century, he wrote The foundations of the true properties of Remedies, amongst others describing arsenious oxide, and being acquainted with silicic acid. He made clear distinction between sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate, and drew attention to the poisonous nature of copper compounds, especially copper vitriol, and also lead compounds. He also describes the distillation of sea-water for drinking.

In Europe pharmacy-like shops began to appear during the 12th century. In 1240 emperor Frederic II issued a decree by which the physician's and the apothecary's professions were separated.

In Europe there are old pharmacies still operating in Dubrovnik, Croatia located inside the Franciscan monastery, opened in 1317 ; and one in the Town Hall Square of Tallinn, Estonia dating from at least 1422. The oldest is claimed to be set up in 1221 in the Church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence Itlay, which now houses a perfume museum. Another in Llívia few kilometres from Puigcerdà is a Catalan enclave in Spain almost within France which is also now a museum dating back to the 15 century.