by Kari Nichols

Created on: January 29, 2010

Prescription drugs have saved countless lives since their development, and in other instances made it possible for people to live well despite disease, and ultimately relieve the extreme pain associated with terminal illness. These drugs have been a blessing to millions of people - but like Pandora's box, that "blessing" is a two-edged sword.

Healing Mankind

The development of prescription drugs began with herbalogy. From ancient times, the interaction of plants to the human body has been studied. Anyone who has had poison ivy can attest to the effect of a plant on their body. Chinese medicine was the earliest and most extensive documentation of plant (and animal) products to treat human conditions. Our common analgesic, Aspirin  (acetylsalycilic acid) is a product of the willow tree (Salix). Digitalis is used to slow the heartbeat; it is a direct product from the common Foxglove (Digitalis). The powerful painkiller Morphine is in the class of 'opiate' drugs, meaning derived from Opium - the common Poppy flower.

The use of herbs was studied, and as science developed, it was possible to isolate and extract the medicinal elements from plants. From that, the exact strength and dosage of the plant product could be measured and controlled. What used to be given by the ancient healer as "a pinch of this" or "a decoction (tea) of that" became "take two every six hours".

One of the earliest documented 'miracle drugs' to be processed and widely used was Penicillin. Until the 1940s, infections were a major cause of death around the world. From it's initial release and use, Penicillin went through many refinements and was chemically altered to act differently within the human body.

From chemically modifying natural elements, scientists began creating new synthetic substances by combining chemicals and studying their actions in the lab, then in humans using clinical trials. At first these were intended to artificially create the natural elements, but then progressed into synthetically creating new medications that did not exist in nature. Many current drugs were being tested for treating one condition when they were found to produce different results - sometimes they generated mild to fatal side effects, sometimes other prominent positive actions like the accidental discovery that became Viagra.


Modern Pharmaceuticals
Physicians now have at their fingertips a drug for most every ailment or condition that the human body experiences. Representatives from every drug manufacturer

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