From the history of pharmacy

Pharmacy, which literally means knowledge of drugs pharmaceuticals, has been a part of the healing arts since mankind first began to treat illnesses. It has developed from ancient civilizations that used parts of plants and animals to concoct various potions to eliminate pain, control suffering, and counteract disease. It has risen from the mysterious incantations of voodoo tribes and has survived the unwritten secret recipes of medicine men.

A number of the drugs used by the ancients are still employed in much the same manner by today's medical practitioners. By trial and error, primitive man must have acquired biologic knowledge that was useful in determining which plants and animals possessed good value and which were to be avoided because they were unpalatable, poisonous, or dangerous. The healing powers of certain herbs, roots, and juices were undoubtedly discovered by accident; but once these attributes were learned, they were too important to be forgotten.

Dioscorides, a Greek physician who lived in the first century A. D., wrote his "De Materia Medica" in 78 A. D., in which he described about 600 plants that were known to have medicinal properties. Of these, a surprisingly large number are still important in modern medicine. Aloe, belladonna, colchicum, ergot, hyoscyamus, and opium are a few that were used then in much the same manner as they are used today.

Galen (131—200 A. D.) was a Greek pharmacist-physician who lived in Rome and who described the method of preparation formulas containing plant and animal drugs. He devoted considerable time to compiling this knowledge, which was distributed throughout 20 books. As a tribute to his accuracy in recording his observations the term "galenical" pharmacy was originated.

From the humble beginning, medicine and pharmacy gradually emerged along separate paths: the physician diagnosed the ailment and prescribed the remedy and the apothecary or pharmacist specialized in the collection preparation, and compounding of the substance.

Pharmacy, as an independent branch of medicine was born in Europe in 1240 when the Emperor of Holy Rome separated pharmacy from medicine. However, there was no special pharmaceutical training at that time. Till late 17th and even 18th century, the universities taught their students ” De Materia Medica”.

WATER

About three quarters of the earth’s surface is covered with liquid water. In vapor form, water is also an important constituent (складова) of the earth’s atmosphere. In combined form, water also occurs abundantly in minerals such as in gypsum. In addition, water occurs in animals and vegetable tissues. It constitutes some 70 per cent of the human body and over 90 per cent of some vegetables.

Naturally occurring waters frequently contain dissolved mineral substances. Thus we have mineral waters in which the total mineral content is significantly above the average, alkaline (лужні) waters which contain unusual quantities of sodium, calcium, or potassium bicarbonate; carbonated waters which contain carbon dioxide dissolved under conditions of excessive pressure, either natural or artificial; sulfur (сірчані) waters containing large amounts of hydrogen sulfide readily detectable by odor, and siliceous (кремнієві) waters containing unusual quantities of silica in soluble form.

Potable water is water which is fit to drink. Since water dissolves a part of nearly everything with which it comes in contact, absolutely pure water does not occur in nature. The water for drinking and domestic purposes is generally supplied by rivers, lakes, wells, and springs. But good drinking water must be free from toxic salts, disease producing organisms, and from harmful organic and sewage contamination. Not all cities and towns process (обробляють) their water supplies the same way. Some do nothing to their water. Others add chemicals to the water to kill bacteria. Still others filter their water. It is up to the individual to find out how local drinking water is treated and to determine how safe the water coming out of the tap is. Tap water can be improved in several ways. Heating tap water to a rolling boil and keeping it there for three to five minutes will kill bacteria and parasites.

Filtration is a means by which contaminants in water are removed. There are three basic types of filters available: absorbent types, which use materials such as carbon to pick up impurities (домішки); microfiltration systems, which run water through filters with tiny pores to catch and eliminate contaminants (the filter may be made of any of a number of different materials); and special media like ion-exchange resins (смоли) that are designed to remove heavy metals. Water filtration systems vary in effectiveness. Two types that are considered good are reverse osmosis and ceramic filtration systems. However, no filter can remove absolutely all contaminants.

When the electric charge of a molecule of water has been neutralized by the addition or removal of electrons, the resulting water is called deionized or demineralized. The deionization process removes nitrates and the minerals calcium and magnesium, in addition to the heavy metals cadmium, barium, lead, and some forms of radium.

To be considered mineral water, in addition to containing minerals, the water must flow from the ground, and must be bottled directly at the source. Depending on where the source is, the minerals contained will vary. If you are suffering from a deficiency of certain minerals and are drinking mineral water for therapeutic reasons, you must be aware of which minerals are in the particular brand of water you drink. If you are drinking mineral water containing minerals that you do not lack, you could be doing yourself more harm than good.

 

I. Underline productive suffixes in the following words and translate them: abundant, commonly, natural, particular, fatty, frequently, watery, significant, silvery, lengthy

II. Put questions to the sentences below: 1. We use water for drinking and domestic purposes. 2. Water contains dissolved mineral substances. 3. Water occurs in animal and vegetable tissues. 4. Water constitutes an important part of the earth’s atmosphere. 5. Man uses water for countless purposes.

III. Combine the given two sentences into one using conjunctions that, which, who: 1. Phosphate is an important major constituent of raw materials. The determination of phosphate is also of particular interest. 2. We watched the reaction. It was taking place in a test-tube. 3. D. I. Mendeleyev was a great scientist. He arranged elements according to a definite system. 4. Water for washing contains some substances. The substances react with soap.

IV. Translate the equivalents of the following expressions from the text: важлива складова земної атмосфери; розчинені мінеральні речовини; загальний вміст мінералів; незвичні кількості натрію; за умов високого тиску; питна вода; придатна для пиття; що не містить хвороботворних організмів.

V. Translate the following sentences: 1. Вода зустрічається в природі у вигляді рідкої води та пари. 2. Три чверті земної поверхні вкриті рідкою водою. 3. Рослини і тварини вміщують велику кількість води. 4. Вода становить близько 70% ваги людського тіла. 5. Воду для пиття зазвичай забирають з річок, озер, криниць та джерел.

 

 

CARBOHYDRATES

Carbohydrates are compounds containing the elements of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, the last two elements being usually present in the proportion in which they are found in water. The group includes sugars of different degrees of complexity and polysaccharides such as starch, inulin and cellulose.

Sugars which contain from three to nine carbon atoms form monosaccharides, those with five and six carbon atoms (pentoses and hexoses) being the most important. Polysaccharides are derived from sugar molecules by condensation with the elimination of water. Sugars are readily ( швидко, добре ) soluble in water and in general can be induced by crystallize only with difficulty and after careful purification. They have a sweet taste. Of the polysaccharides insulin is soluble in warm water but the more complex cellulose is insoluble.

All carbohydrates give a violet colour when treated with alphanaphthol followed by concentrated sulphuric acid. Some carbohydrates are reducing (відновлювані). Non-reducing carbohydrates such as sucrose and the polysaccharides can be hydrolyzed by boiling for about half an hour or more with a little dilute acid. After neutralizing them with an excess of caustic soda, it will be found that reducing sugars have been produced.

Carbohydrates are divided into two groups – simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates, sometimes called simple sugars, include fructose (fruit sugar), sucrose (table sugar), and lactose (milk sugar), as well as several other sugars. Fruits are one of the richest natural sources of simple carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates are also made up of sugars, but the sugar molecules are strung together to form longer, more complex chains. Complex carbohydrates include fiber and starches (крохмаль). Complex carbohydrates are found in vegetables, whole grains, peas, and beans.

Carbohydrates are the main source of blood glucose, which is a major fuel for all of the body’s cells and the only source of energy for the brain and red blood cells.

Although most fiber is not digested, it delivers several important health benefits. First, fiber retains water, resulting in softer and bulkier stools that prevent constipation and hemorrhoids. A high-fiber diet also reduces the risk of colon cancer. In addition, fiber binds with certain substances that would normally result in the production of cholesterol, and eliminates (видаляє) these substances from the body. In this way, a high-fiber diet helps lower blood cholesterol levels, reducing the risk of heart disease.

Create nouns from the given adjectives using the suffix –ity:

Complex (складний) — > complexity (складність)

soluble (розчинний) -

responsible (відповідальний) -

change­able (мінливий) -

possible (можливий) -

acid (кислий) -

Translate the sentences. Underline the words having prefixes with negative meaning:

1. The more complex cellulose is insoluble. 2. Non-reducing carbo­hydrates can be hydrolyzed by boiling for about half an hour with a little dilute soda. 3. Many mercury compounds sublime unchanged when heated in a dry tube. 4. Impure substances usually soften first and require a range of temperature to cover the period between softening and complete melting. 5. Antibiotics can be produced from organic and inorganic substances. 6. The common fatty acids in fixed oils, fats and waxes in combination with glycerol or other alcohol may be saturated or unsaturated.

Choose the correct verb form given in brackets: 1. Today the laboratory (produced, has produced) more complex carbohydrates. 2. They (solved, have solved) that problem two years ago. 3. He just (completed, has completed) his investigation. 4. At present production of synthesized carbohydrates (developed, has developed) into a new industry. 5. She (hasn't worked, did not work) at this problem since she left the Institute. 6. The method (develop, was developed) at that Institute.