Most of the world’s inhabitants use plants to treat illness and injury. Researchers devote intensive study to natural products, looking for new approaches to solve old health challenges. How have we come to rely on these products? How far back can we look to learn the origins of modern medication?
The Alphabet of Galen (AG) is a major resource for understanding the richness and diversity of medical history. Originating in Late Antiquity, this index describes the medicinal uses for nearly three hundred metals, aromatics, animal materials and herbs. Nicholas Everett of the Department of History offers an English translation of the original Latin text and adds commentary on the extensive evidence the AG circulated over several centuries among medical authorities, including Hippocrates, Galen of Pergamum, Soranus, and Pseudo-Apuleius.
In researching the text, Everett quickly found that tracing the vast history of medical writing required additional preparation. In 2011 he registered for a Bachelor of Science program at U of T and has spent the past three years taking life science courses, learning alongside Faculty of Medicine students.
Many of the AG’s prescriptions for therapeutic use hold up remarkably well — opium to induce sleep, celery as a diuretic and ginger as a digestive aid. Other entries haven’t managed to withstand the test of time — thankfully, we no longer need to treat intestinal parasites by drinking an egg mixed with the shavings of a stag horn. It’s the staying power that Everett suggests may be most compelling about the text. It contains very little of the “potions” we might associate with ancient or medieval medicine, and far more cures that are derived from practise and experimentation, the benefits of which we continue to enjoy.