Pharmacy in Latvia during the occupation regime of Nazi Germany (1941-1945).

The study covers the period of World War II after shift of occupational powers in Latvia when Soviet occupation was replaced by the occupation regime of Nazi Germany in the summer of 1941 and retained until first half of 1945. Due to this shift gradually Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Belarus were merged into a single administrative area and designated as "Ostland". Soviet officials left the pharmaceutical industry, which they had tried to apply to the communist ideology from June 1940 to June 1941 creating confusion and chaos. The renewed Pharmacy Board of Latvia had to deal with the restoration of supervision and a partial return from the communist to the capitalist regime. The research provides an insight to adaptation and development of the pharmaceutical industry in Latvia during Nazi Germany occupation regime, highlighting as essential indicators the administrative operation of Pharmacy Board of Latvia and its cooperation with German authorities, the availability of medicines, process of reprivatisation of pharmacies and changes in the number of pharmaceutical employees. The research issue raised is topical, since it is this period that reflects the industry's ability to adapt and perform work in fundamentally different and severe circumstances, which include both resource deficits and the transition from one regime to another. The collected evidence shows the efforts to stabilize the pharmaceutical industry in many terms. One example was the attemptions to ensure the rational dispensing of medical products to the pharmacies and hospitals, with the greatest degree of austerity, because the supply and consumption of medication was extremely complex issue throughout the war.

Pharmacy in Latvia during the first Soviet occupation (1940-1941).

The first period of the independent state of Latvia lasted from 1918 to 1940. During this period, pharmacy in Latvia had reached a high level of development. The study covers the period after the loss of independence, when the beginning of World War II marked a major crisis in the development of pharmacy in Latvia. The aim of the study was to compile and systematize information available in published and unpublished sources on the impact of the Soviet occupation (1940-1941) on pharmacy in Latvia, which has not been studied before. The main idea of the study was to find evidence that the Soviet occupation decreased the development capacity of Latvian pharmaceutical industry and narrowed its development opportunities. At the same time, the study reflects part of the general political, ideological and economic environment in Latvia over that period. The study is retrospective and descriptive. Materials from Latvian State Historical Archives and the National Archives of Latvia, and publications from the 20th century press of Latvia were used in the study. In one year, the Soviet system attempted to aggressively transform Latvian pharmaceutical industry to match the USSR standards. This meant the destruction of the capitalist system and the free market, as well as the introduction of centralised management. The radical changes were poorly organised and unsuitable candidates were appointed to positions of responsibility. There is evidence that pharmacy in Latvia experienced complete chaos during that period: private enterprises were nationalised, the number of pharmacy professionals decreased, and medical products from abroad were not supplied to the Latvian market. The Latvian population was rescued from total lack of medications by the last major medication purchase from Germany and the Netherlands shortly before the occupation. All the USSR actions in the pharmaceutical industry were coercive. With the occupation of Nazi Germany in the summer of 1941, the Soviet functionaries left the industry. However, in 1945, during the second occupation, the previous procedures were renewed and their results strengthened. It leads to the conclusion that the Soviet political system had an adverse effect on the development of pharmacy in Latvia.

Pharmacists among Members of the Czech-Moravian Capuchin Province.

Based on a profound examination and evaluation of archival materials, the paper reconstructs the lives of eighteen pharmacists - members of the Czech-Moravian Capuchin Province from the 17th to the 19th century, of which sixteen served as monastic pharmacists. In addition to the identified biographical data (based on archival materials), the Latin summary reports on the life of a particular capuchin on the occasion of his death (the so-called elogia) from the Capuchin Provincial Chronicle (Annales capucinorum) are edited, together with their commented Czech translation. The discovered data allow a deeper insight into the pharmaceutical history of the Czech-Moravian Capuchin Province, where three monastic pharmacies were operated in Brno, Prague in Hradčany and Olomouc, and also a monastic pharmaceutical study was established. The published material also provides some new data on contemporary pharmaceutical practice, which are set in the context of literature. The paper illustrates the transfer of knowledge between the world of secular and monastic pharmacy at the places where future monastic pharmacists received their education (the pharmacies “The White Eagle” in Karlovy Vary, the pharmacy of brothers hospitallers in Prostějov, “The Golden Eagle” in Opava, “The White Unicorn” in the Old Town of Prague). The paper also highlights the intensive involvement of monastic pharmacists in the management of plague epidemics in the years 1680-1713 (often at the cost of their own lives), as well as the above-standard proximity to the patients in monastic hospitals in carrying out routine nursing and pharmacy practice. The paper adds sharper contours to the image of the pharmacist at that time by detailing the life stories of individual pharmacists (e.g., the previous career as a military surgeon and the iconographic circumstances of death, or the career extension in the form of participation in the order meetings in Rome). Analysis of the preserved manuscript Annotationes medicae Fr. Absolonis from the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries not only introduces an interesting pharmaceutical memorabilia, but also illustrates the professional maturation of the last Capuchin pharmacist. In the final part of the paper, the data about twenty-two pharmacists who unsuccessfully tried to join the Capuchin Order are given. It not only demonstrates admission practice in the Capuchin order, in which spiritual interest outweighed the practical, but also bears witness to other pharmaceutical phenomena of the time, such as the fate of the pharmacist from the abolished Jesuit Order or the development of pharmacy in the Carthusian monastery in Valdice.

Trade, knowledge and networks: the activities of the Society of Apothecaries and its members in London, c.1670-c.1800.

This article explores the activities of the Society of Apothecaries and its members following the foundation of a laboratory for manufacturing chemical medicines in 1672. In response to political pressures, the guild created an institutional framework for production which in time served its members both functionally and financially and established a physical site within which the endorsement of practical knowledge could take place. Demand from state and institutional customers for drugs produced under corporate oversight affirmed and supported the society's trading role, with chemical and pharmaceutical knowledge utilized to fulfil collective and individual goals. The society benefited from the mercantile interests, political connections and practical expertise of its members, with contributions to its trading activities part of a much wider participation in London's medical, scientific and commercial milieu. Yet, as apothecaries became increasingly engaged in the practice of medicine rather than the preparation and sale of drugs, the society struggled to reconcile the changing priorities of those it represented, and tensions emerged between its corporate and commercial activities.

The impact of the Baltic Germans' emigration on the pharmaceutical sector in Latvia (1939-1940).

For several hundred years, the Baltic German families of pharmacists have been the decisive creator of traditions in Latvian pharmacy. A large amount of the oldest pharmacies in Latvia, especially in Riga, were owned by pharmacists of Baltic German origin. Many of these ancient pharmacies ceased to exist in 1939, as a result of the emigration of the Baltic Germans. The agreement on the outward migration of German nationality citizens between Latvia and Germany was signed October 30, 1939. According to the information of the Pharmacy Board of Latvia, the number of employees in the pharmaceutical sector, registered in 1939, was 2068 persons. During the first wave of emigration, at the end of the year 1939, 306 persons, related to pharmacy, renounced the Latvian citizenship and emigrated. During the second wave of emigration, in spring of 1941, when Latvia had already lost its political independence, another 49 pharmaceutic employees left Latvia. In total 355 employees emigrated to Germany. As a result of the Baltic German emigration there was a decreased number of pharmacies in Latvia and the lack of pharmacists became a local issue. In rural areas quite often the only one pharmacy, which had been owned by a German origin pharmacist was liquidated or stayed closed for several months.

Pharmacy and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Pharmacists as Goethes chemistry teaches.

At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, when pharmacy was established as a modern scientific discipline, pharmacists played an important role in spreading the latest discoveries in the field of chemistry, being virtually the only established representatives of the field. The article focuses on a mutually enriching dialogue between the prominent personality of the time - the poet, writer and statesman, as well as the scientist - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and the major representatives of the pharmacy of that time, especially J. R. Spielmann, W. H. Buchholz, J. F. Göttling, and J. W. Döbereiner. Goethe, who has been deeply interested in chemistry all over his life, has found his teachers of chemistry and co-workers in this field among the pharmacists and, in return, has provided them with an extraordinary support for the realization of their scientific and professional interests. This cooperation is illustrated by the solution of the mysterious method of poisoning described in the ancient literature, on which the poet collaborated with J. W. Döbereiner. Attention is also paid to the reflection of pharmacy in Goethe's work (Hermann und Dorothea, Faust). The poet's numerous stays in Bohemia, where he spent more than three years of his life, naturally brought him into contact with a number of pharmacists of the Czech Kingdom.

Enchiridion medicinae by Georg Henisch (1549-1618).

Georg Henisch (1549-1618), a native of Bardejov, for all of his life as a teacher at St. Anne's Grammar School in Augsburg, Germany. He was a very prolific polyhistor, publishing spiritual and occasional poetry, works on medicine, mathematics, rhetoric, dialectics, astronomy, linguistics and geography, editions of some ancient authors, and several translations. In 1573 he issued the pharmaceutical guide Enchiridion medicinae, which presents medications and remedies for individual health problems without any further comment on their effects and usage. However, this guide had a precursor, published in Paris in 1571, but with no mention of the author, and it is not certain that Henisch produced it. The text is de facto identical, there are only minimal variations, but the second edition has a longer title, it is extended with an introduction and the final part containing some prescriptions. In 1571, when the first edition was issued, Henisch was just 22-years old, and in 1573 he was still only 24, so in his case life experience cannot be taken into account. Comparison of the work with contemporary medical literature has shown that Enchiridion medicinae is not an original work, but a compilation of three works by other authors: De materia medicinali et compositione medicorum by G. Rondelet from 1556, a commentary to Galen´s Quos, quibus quando purgare oporteat by the French author Sebastien Coquilitus Scipio from 1553, and the book Lilium medicinae by Bernard de Gordon from 1550. Key words: Georg Henisch • pharmacy in the 16th century • pharmaceutical handbook Enchiridion medicinae.

Pharmacy, Testing, and the Language of Truth in Renaissance Italy.

This article examines the role of testing and innovation in sixteenthcentury Italian pharmacy. I argue that apothecaries were less concerned with testing drugs for efficacy or creating novel products than with reactivating an older Mediterranean pharmacological tradition and studying the materials on which it relied. Their practice was not driven by radical experimentation but by a "culture of tweaking"-of minute operational changes to existing recipes and accommodation of their textual variants-which was rooted in the guild economy fostering incremental over radical innovation and in a humanist reevaluation of past autorities. Workshop practice was also increasingly driven by a new ideal of staying true to nature fostered by the period's botanical renaissance. This led to an emphasis on ingredients over processes in the shop, and found clearest expression in the elaboration of a taxonomic "language of truth" that helped apothecaries discern between authentic and inauthentic materia medica and harness their sincerity in lieu of testing effectiveness.

[Simplicia and medical containers from the Jesuit pharmacy in Telc]. / Simplicia a nádoby jezuitské lékárny v Telci.

The Jesuit pharmacy in Telc was founded after 1657 within the premises of the Jesuit cloister; it survived the dissolution of Jesuits in 1773 and thanks to its purchase by the last pharmacist Ignac Lyro it was relocated to one of the houses in the square. During the stocktaking of the property and its sale, a detailed inventory of pharmacy equipment was recorded, including cabinets, laboratory tools, ingredients or drugs. The inventory is divided into parts of ingredients and prepared medications, the last lists recording the tools and containers for its preparation, production and preservation. The ingredients contain various parts of plants, minerals, precious stones or even parts of animals. The list is written mainly in the alphabetical order, in some cases with specified types of groups. Every item is provided with information about its price and quantity. Many ingredients originated from overseas countries, the areas of Jesuit missionary activities. Of the former rich equipment, only three pharmacy cabinets and a few containers, mainly veneer boxes and ceramic drug jars, have survived. All these parts together with the inventory give us a comparatively clear notion about the equipment and even facilities of the Jesuit apothecary in Telc, which sold items from different parts of the world. The Jesuit convent seems to be an important centre for town inhabitants not only in the 18th century; its legacy has remained in the local pharmacy till today.Key words: pharmacy Societas Jesus 18th century medications medical containers.

[The image of a good pharmacist in the works of Saladin di Ascoli and Valerius Cordus]. / Obraz dobrého lekárnika v diele Saladina z Ascola a Valeria Corda.

Separation of pharmacy from medicine induced the requirements formulation for an ideal pharmacist. Two prominent authors did so, Saladin di Ascoli (the first half of the XVth century) in the work Compendium aromatariorum (1488) and Valerius Cordus (1515-1544) in the work Dispensatorium pharmacopolarum (1546). Both of them formulate similar postulates of both professional and ethical nature, namely a knowledge of Latin, good education, experience, good character traits, need of satisfied marriage; both say that the pharmacist is required to be a good Christian, they condemn alcohol, relationships with women, poisons and abortifacients, remember right relationship to money. In addition, Cordus adds a good financial situation. Their considerations had a great impact on further development of pharmacy across Europe.Key words: Saladin di Ascoli Valerius Cordus ideal pharmacist.

Contribution of Arabic Medicine and Pharmacy to the Development of Health Care Protection in Bosnia and Herzegovina - the First Part.

The time interval from the 9th to the 13th century remained known as the "Golden period of the Arab science", and a significant place among the taught sciences are occupied by Medicine and Pharmacy. In the history of medicine, Islamic medicine, also known as Arabic medicine, refers to the science of medicine developed in the Islamic Golden Age, and written in Arabic Arabs were able to use their cultural and natural resources and trade links to contribute to the strong development of pharmacy. After the collapse of the Arab rule, the Arab territorial expanses and cultural heritage were taken over by the Turks. Although scientific progress in the Turkish period slowed down due to numerous unfavorable political-economic and other circumstances, thanks to the Turks, Arab culture and useful Islamic principles expanded to the territory of our homeland of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Significant role in the transfer of Arabic medical and pharmaceutical knowledge was also attributed to the Sephardic Jews who, with their arrival, continued to perform their attar activities, which were largely based on Arab achievements. However, insufficiently elaborated, rich funds of oriental medical and pharmaceutical handwriting testify that Oriental science has nurtured in these areas as well, and that the Arab component in a specific way was intertwined with other cultures and traditions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Contribution of Arabic Medicine and Pharmacy to the Development of Health Care Protection in Bosnia and Herzegovina - the Second Part.

After the collapse of the Arab rule, the Arab territorial expanses and cultural heritage were taken over by the Turks. Although scientific progress in the Turkish period slowed down due to numerous unfavorable political-economic and other circumstances. Thanks to the Turks, Arabic culture and useful Islamic principles expanded to the territory of our homeland of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). Significant role in the transfer of Arabic pharmaceutical knowledge was also attributed to the Sephardic Jews who, with their arrival, continued to perform their attar activities, which were largely based on Arab achievements. However, insufficiently elaborated, rich funds of oriental medical and pharmaceutical handwriting testify that Oriental science has nurtured in these areas as well, and that the Arabic component in a specific way was intertwined with other cultures and traditions of B&H. The Franciscan monasteries in Bosnia and Herzegovina have museums which contain important exhibits and libraries rich in books, among which many from the field of medicine and pharmacy. Muslim mosques, also, had small libraries with Arabic books used for spreading medical knowledge. The second category was folk doctors and practitioners who were on disposition to the people of any religion. Some of them listened to lectures in medicine during the studies of theology and philosophy. However, most did not have any medical education, but by reading books and teaching experience they made their own recipe collection. Special books, called "Ljekaruse" (Books of recipes) were also born during the study when they came into contact with an even larger number of health books. However, it should not be neglected that a lot of them contained folk medicines that were used in some environments depending on the habits and available herbs. Although it has been proven that many recipes from Ljekaruse are pharmacologically and medically justified, one should not ignore the knowledge and skill behind them. The true flowering of medicine in B&H happening thanks to graduate doctors in Italy, Austria, Hungary, Turkey, etc. Through their action, in a short time, they greatly improved health in B&H, educated the population. The Franciscans were important because they opened the first open-air clinics, the first pharmacies, and wrote the first pharmacopoeia and regulations for the work of health care institutions. Numerous works preserved in monasteries have mostly brought about the study in only one or two copies. Their contribution to the development of health care and the prevention of illness and treatment of the population in B&H during that period is very significant.

[Chemistry and Pharmacy in the Journal of the Academy of Medical Medicine (1836-1843)]. / La química y la farmacia en el Periódico de la Academia de Medicina de Mégico (1836-1843).

This paper analyzes the articles published on chemicals and pharmaceuticals in the Periódico de la Academia de Medicina de Mégico. Through these publications it is possible to illustrate the transformation in the study of medical material of the era. At the same time, it shows discussions held by doctors and pharmacists about scientific news and analysis of local therapeutic resources.

[Charles Ménière (1816-1887) : pharmacist and historian of the pharmacists who were in practice in the town of Angers].

Charles Ménière (1816-1887) was the young brother of the doctor Prosper Menière (1799-1862), who was the obstetrician of the Duchess of Berry, the doctor in chief of the deaf-mute Institution and an erudite ear specialist. Charles learned pharmacy in Paris. Coming back to Angers he bought a chemist's shop. In 1871 he became the chief pharmacist of the Hôtel-Dieu. In 1857 he joined the Academic Society of Angers and presented many consequent papers between them one can find notes concerning the history of the Angers's pharmacists. Its researches relate to pharmacology, mineralogy, hydrology and even philology.

[Henri-Aimé Lotar (1836-1898) and the Museum of Faculty of pharmaceutical and biological sciences at the University of Lille].

Dispensing pharmacist (settled down at n° 27 of Roubaix street in Lille, in the ancient pharmacy of his father Henri Lucien Joseph Lotar), Henri-Aimé L otar was also assistant professor since 1865, then first pharmacy titular professor at the University of Lille (from the creation of the chair of pharmacy in 1881 to his death in 1898), hospital chief pharmacist, pharmacy inspector, member of Hygiene Council and representative of pharmacy at the Academic Council. He gave his name to the Museum Lotar, which is situated on the ground floor of the Faculty of pharmaceutical and biological sciences at the University of Lille and where his portrait ­ in official costume of professor ­ takes place within a rebuild pharmacy in «19th century¼ style. This museum besides includes ancient pharmacopoeias, numerous books (among which the monumental Herbarium of Charles Fourcade) and old registers of prescription ­ we made an inventory of those ­ as well as pharmacy pots, specimens of herbal drugs, patent medicines, medical devices, several objects for pharmaceutical use, laboratory instruments and a professor dress which belonged to Professor Morvillez, third successor of Lotar at the chair of Pharmacy.

[Mysteries of a medicine chest ].

This article retraces the history of an old medicine chest, used at the beginning of the 19th century, but probably designed earlier. Possibly made in A ustria, with a two-headed eagle lining the bottom of the lid, this first-aid kit belongs to a small group of related chests. It should be noted that these chests were used for a wide variety of different purposes over time. Also named a «droguier¼ in French, this light chest, made of walnut, and, according to family lore, found in Normandy, would have belonged to a doctor, as confirmed by a short invoice found among numerous documents. The identity of the supplier of numerous old medicines is shown on the labels on the flasks (many of which are intact) and other boxes (containing, in particular, herbal drugs) : «Clément, Apothicaire. Rue St Onge N°. 42. près le Bd. du Temple A Paris¼, whose history is recounted here step by step.

[Two books printed in Strasburg during the 16th century present in the inventory of the Paris College of Pharmacy Library].

The catalogue of the College of Pharmacy Library, written in 1780, mentioned two books printed in Strasburg during the 16th century. The first one was a Latin edition of PΠερι Υλης Ιατριχης of Dioscorides. The drop caps are enriched by the figuration of episodes from the Bible. The principal interest of this book comes from the identity of his donator, Ioannes Du Boys, apothecary of the Duke of Alençon, the brother of King Henry III. This apothecary was also the author of a pharmacopoeia entitled Methodus Miscendorum Medicamentorum. The second one was a compendium of various titles, which had, most of them, in common to have been written by Valerius Cordus. It contains many illustrations and some of them are especially expressive. Its main interest is nevertheless to be a part of a gift made by a group of Parisian apothecaries, in 1570. This gift is considered as the birth of apothecaries' library, the direct ancestor of actual "BIU Santé pole Pharmacy". The presence of these two books in the library constitutes a testimony of the importance of printers from Strasburg in history.

[The Journal de chimie médicale (Journal of Medical Chemistry) : a major innovation on French public health during the 19th century ].

JBA Chevallier is first known for his publication in 1850 of his book on falsifications. But he had also a major role for the opening of the pharmacy world to toxicological and Public Health issues, through the founding in 1825, and the management for more than 50 years, of the Journal de chimie médicale, de pharmacie et de toxicologie (Journal of Medical Chemistry, of Pharmacy and of Toxicology). The purpose of the present study has been to look at the evolution of that publication over the years and to compare its content with the reference pharmaceutical journal at that time : the Journal de pharmacie et de chimie (Journal of Pharmacy and Chemistry). One can observe that the editorial lines of both journals will progressively diverge from each other, but Chevallier remained strongly connected with pharmacy, his journal merging finally in 1876 with the Répertoire de pharmacie (Index of Pharmacy).