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  • A pregnant black woman with a warning about the dangers of drug taking and the risk of AIDS; advertisement for drug treatment by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Lithograph.
  • A pregnant black woman wearing a white collared striped shirt with a warning about the dangers of drug taking and the risk of AIDS; advertisement for drug treatment by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Lithograph.
  • 'Mycil' : the non-mercurial fungicide : for the treatment of athlete's foot and other fungal dermatoses / The British Drug Houses Ltd. London.
  • 'Mycil' : the non-mercurial fungicide : for the treatment of athlete's foot and other fungal dermatoses / The British Drug Houses Ltd. London.
  • Catharanthus roseus (L.)G.Don Apocynaceae. Madagascar Periwinkle Distribution: Madagascar. It is the source of vincristine and vinblastine, which impair cell multiplication by interfering with microtubule assembly, causing metaphase arrest and are effective medications for leukaemias, lymphomas and some solid tumours. The mortality from childhood leukaemia fell from 100% to 30% once it was introduced - not a drug that could ethically be tested by double-blind trials. These chemicals were initially discovered by investigators in 1958 who were looking for cures for diabetes so tested this plant which was being used in the West Indies to reduce blood sugar levels. There are 70 different alkaloids present in this plant, and some - catharanthine, leurosine sulphate, lochnerine, tetrahydroalstonine, vindoline and vindolinine - lower blood sugar levels. However, the toxicity of this plant is such that this is not a plant to try at home for diabetic management. The vincristine content of the plant is 0.0003%, so two kilograms of leaf are required to produce sufficient vincristine for a single course of treatment for a child (6gm). Fortunately it is a vigorous weed and easy to grow in the tropics. Artificial synthesis has now been achieved. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Veratrum nigrum L. Melanthiaceae Distribution: Europe. Cows do not eat Veratrum species in the meadows, and human poisoning with it caused vomiting and fainting. In the 1850s it was found to reduce the heart's action and slow the pulse (Bentley, 1861, called it an 'arterial sedative'), and in 1859 it was used orally in a woman who was having convulsions due to eclampsia. Dr Paul DeLacy Baker in Alabama treated her with drops of a tincture of V. viride. She recovered. It was used thereafter, as the first choice of treatment, and, when blood pressure monitoring became possible, it was discovered that it worked by reducing the high blood pressure that occurs in eclampsia. By 1947 death rates were reduced from 30% to 5% by its use at the Boston Lying-in Hospital. It works by dilating the arteries in muscles and in the gastrointestinal circulation. A further use of Veratrum species came to light when it was noted that V. californicum - and other species - if eaten by sheep resulted in foetal malformations, in particular only having one eye. The chemical in the plant that was responsible, cyclopamine, was found to act on certain genetic pathways responsible for stem cell division in the regulation of the development of bilateral symmetry in the embryo/foetus. Synthetic analogues have been developed which act on what have come to be called the 'hedgehog signalling pathways' in stem cell division, and these 'Hedgehog inhibitors' are being introduced into medicine for the treatment of various cancers like chondrosarcoma, myelofibrosis, and advanced basal cell carcinoma. The drugs are saridegib, erismodegib and vismodegib. All the early herbals report on its ability to cause vomiting. As a herbal medicine it is Prescription Only, via a registered dentist or physician (UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)). Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Veratrum album L. Melanthiaceae Distribution: Europe. Cows do not eat Veratrum species in the meadows, and human poisoning with it caused vomiting and fainting. In the 1850s it was found to reduce the heart's action and slow the pulse (Bentley, 1861, called it an 'arterial sedative'), and in 1859 it was used orally in a woman who was having convulsions due to eclampsia. Dr Paul DeLacy Baker in Alabama treated her with drops of a tincture of V. viride. She recovered. It was used thereafter, as the first choice of treatment, and when blood pressure monitoring became possible, it was discovered that it worked by reducing the high blood pressure that occurs in eclampsia. By 1947 death rates were reduced from 30% to 5% by its use at the Boston Lying in Hospital. It works by dilating the arteries in muscles and in the gastrointestinal circulation. A further use of Veratrum species came to light when it was noted that V. californicum -and other species - if eaten by sheep resulted in foetal malformations, in particular only having one eye. The chemical in the plant that was responsible, cyclopamine, was found to act on certain genetic pathways responsible for stem cell division in the regulation of the development of bilateral symmetry in the embryo/foetus. Synthetic analogues have been developed which act on what have come to be called the 'hedgehog signalling pathways' in stem cell division, and these 'Hedgehog inhibitors' are being introduced into medicine for the treatment of various cancers like chondrosarcoma, myelofibrosis, and advanced basal cell carcinoma. The drugs are saridegib, erismodegib and vismodegib. All the early herbals report on its ability to cause vomiting. As a herbal medicine it is Prescription Only, via a registered dentist or physician (UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)). Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Baldwin's Bilious and Liver Pills : cures sickness, dizziness, shoulder pains, yellowness of the eyes, skin, brown or yellow coated tongue, bile, jaundice, constipation, piles, all liver troubles.
  • Baldwin's Bilious and Liver Pills : cures sickness, dizziness, shoulder pains, yellowness of the eyes, skin, brown or yellow coated tongue, bile, jaundice, constipation, piles, all liver troubles.
  • Aspirin tablets in tubes and boxes. Colour lithograph.
  • Advertisement for Dr Johnson's Yellow Ointment
  • Advertisement for Dr Steer's Chemical Opodeldoc, c 1794
  • Medical equipment
  • Sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra
  • Sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra
  • Blister pack of chloroquine antimalarial tablets. Chloroquine is used to prevent and treat the infectious disease malaria. Malaria is caused by parasites (Plasmodium species) which enter the blood when inefcted mosquitoes feed. Side effects of chloroquine include vomitting, nausea and headache. Retinopathy (damage to the retina) is a rare eye condition associated with long term use over many years. Drug resistance against antimalarials is increasing.
  • Crystals of benzimidazole. Benzimidazole is used as a fungicide in agriculture and to treat worms in human and veterinary medicine.
  • Crystals of sulphanilamide
  • Salbutamol crystals
  • Benzimidazole crystals
  • Salbutamol crystals
  • Benzimidazole crystals
  • HMG-CoA reductase
  • Pills, artwork
  • A crowd watching a troupe of quack-doctors on a stage outside an inn. Oil painting by a Flemish painter, ca. 1640(?).
  • A crowd watching a troupe of quack-doctors on a stage outside an inn. Oil painting by a Flemish painter, ca. 1640(?).
  • A crowd watching a troupe of quack-doctors on a stage outside an inn. Oil painting by a Flemish painter, ca. 1640(?).
  • Outer hair cells damaged by kanamycin
  • Paracetamol crystals
  • A grocer's shop in England: doorway and shop window. Photograph.