Dioscorides

Dioscorides was a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and author of De Materia Medica (On Medical Material) — a 5-volume Greek encyclopedia about herbal medicine and related medicinal substances (a pharmacopeia), that was widely read for more than 1,500 years.

Life and Career

Dioscorides was born in the first century AD in Anazarbus, Cilicia, Asia Minor. He studied medicine and pharmacology in Tarsus. He served as a surgeon in the Roman army under the Emperor Nero, which gave him the opportunity to travel extensively, allowing him to study and collect plant and mineral samples for his studies.

De Materia Medica

His most significant contribution to medicine and pharmacology is his book, De Materia Medica. The book is a precursor to all modern pharmacopeias and continues to be used today for the descriptions of a wide range of drugs. It provides descriptions, uses, and indications of over 600 plants, along with some animals and mineral substances, and around 1000 medicines made from these sources.

Legacy

Dioscorides' work had a profound influence on the fields of pharmacology and botany, and his work remained influential into the Renaissance. His work, De Materia Medica, was translated into many languages and was the precursor to all modern pharmacopeias.

See Also

• History of Medicine
• Pharmacology
• Botany
• De Materia Medica

References

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