Apothecary

An Apothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses medicines and medical equipment to physicians, surgeons, and patients.

Link to Pharmacology
In addition to pharmacy responsibilities, the Apothecary offered general medical advice and a range of services that are now being performed solely by other specialist practitioners, such as surgery and midwifery. Apothecaries often operated through a retail shop which, in addition to ingredients for medicines, sold tobacco and patent medicines.

In its investigation of herbal and chemical ingredients, the work of an Apothecary may be regarded as a precursor of the modern sciences of chemistry and pharmacology.

Early History of Apothecaries
The first Apothecary shops were founded during the Middle Ages in Baghdad. The first one was founded by Muslim pharmacists in 754, during the Islamic Golden Age. Apothecaries were also active in Islamic Spain by the 11th century.

From the 15th century to the 16th century, the Apothecary gained the status of a skilled practitioner, but by the end of the 19th century, the medical professions had taken on their current institutional form.

Apothecaries used their own measurement system, the Apothecaries' System, to provide precise weighting of small quantities. Apothecaries were also known to accept special requests for "viles and poisons." This meaning of the term "Apothecary" has not passed into archaic oblivion.