Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. This book gives a brief introduction to the history of pharmacy. Its origin came about from the students who desire to have an accessible account about the history of pharmacy that deals with it from its origins to the present. It is meant to be a starting point, a synthesis of the best scholarship to introduce the readers the history of pharmacy and will provide a bibliography for further study of any desired topic. The material conditions of the cultures and civilizations discussed in this book vary over time and place, but the fundamental human quest for health and well being remains universal. It offers interesting sidebars in the form of box features and pop ups. These features combined with illustrations, charts, and diagrams which provides a fuller picture of the history of pharmacy from multiple perspectives and the zeitgeist of a particular era.