Our man in dorpat: Rudolf Buchheim and the birth of pharmacology.

摘要

In the nineteenth century, three major groups of drugs were discovered: alkaloids, anesthetics, and sedative-hypnotics. The first half of the century saw the discovery of alkaloids, beginning with the isolation of morphine from opium by Friedrich Serturner (1783-1841). Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac (1778-1850) was the first influential figure to recognize the importance of Serturner's work, and he encouraged further research along the same lines. Between 1 820 and 1 840, scores of alkaloids were isolated, a great many of them by pharmacists.