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  • Article

A symbol of a lost homeland

The story of one protective amulet from Palestine reveals a complex tale. Encompassing the personal history of an influential doctor and collector, it provides a window onto dispossession and exile, and the painful repercussions that are still felt today.

  • Article

The origins and meanings of pharmacy symbols

What have snakes, unicorns and crocodiles got to do with pharmacies? The history of these modern signs goes back to the Greek gods.

  • In pictures

How Mills & Boon made medicine romantic

‘Doctor-nurse’ romances are a hugely popular trope. Agnes Arnold-Forster explores their history and surprisingly nuanced depictions of womanhood, hospitals and the welfare state.

  • Article

Drugs in Victorian Britain

Many common remedies were taken throughout the 19th century, with more people than ever using them. What was the social and cultural context of this development?

All stories (28)

Images

  • Myrtus communis L. Myrtaceae Myrtle Distribution: Europe. Dioscorides (Beck, 2005) recommends the fruit for treating haemoptysis (‘spitting blood’) and cystitis, and, if boiled, he said it made a fine wine. In various forms it was used as a hair dye, for sore eyes, anal and uterine prolapse, dandruff and shingles, all sorts of inflammations, scorpion bites and even sweaty armpits. Our plant has white berries, but he regarded those with black berries (they become black later in the season) as being more effective. Lyte (1576) adds that the juice of the berries kept the hair black and stopped it falling out, and prevented intoxication. He notes that it only flowered in hot summers in England, but it is reliable in flower now, either due to global warming or selection of suitable clones. According to Lyte, it is named after Merlyne, a fair maiden of Athens in ancient Greece, who judged the athletic games. Slain by a disgruntled competitor, the goddess Minerva brought her back as the myrtle tree in perpetual memory. The myrtle tree is also an ancient Jewish symbol for peace and justice. Myrtle wine is still made in Tuscany and now even in China. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • The medicine Buddha (Bhaiṣajyaguru) and Tsongkhapa (1357-1419). Distemper painting by a Tibetan painter.
  • The medicine Buddha (Bhaiṣajyaguru) and Tsongkhapa (1357-1419). Distemper painting by a Tibetan painter.
  • The medicine Buddha (Bhaiṣajyaguru) and Tsongkhapa (1357-1419). Distemper painting by a Tibetan painter.
  • Drawing: Mandala representing 8 medicine Buddhas.
  • The front of the pharmacy of J. Cassel, founded in 1683 at 4 Rue de la Barre, Dieppe. Photograph.
  • Allegory of surgery. Engraving with etching by B. L. Prevost.
  • Panama: a Choco Indian medicine man with musicians during a ceremony to heal a sick boy lying beneath a shelter bearing symbols. Photograph of a process print, ca. 1920 (?).
  • A woman holding a rod encircled by a snake leads an invalid; representing medicine. Process print after a bas-relief by U.A. Ricci.
  • Li Chunfeng, the Chinese mathematician, astrologer and cosmologist, wearing traditional costume, holding the 'Eight Trigrams' symbol incorporating the 'Yin-yang' symbol. Watercolour, China, 18--.
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