Columbia University College of Pharmacy - Apothekan Yearbook (New York, NY)

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MATERIA MEDIEA DEPARTMENT Dr. Charles W. Ballard Pedacius Dioscorides, a Greek army surgeon, studied and described, during Kis extensive travels with Nero ' s army, more than six hundred varieties of plants, some of the more important of which are being widely used in the present day. Materia Medica is tbe collective name given to tbe study of drugs used to cure or alleviate tbe numer- ous diseases of the human body. The study of tbese drugs at the College is intensive and provides the basis of tbe Materia Medica courses. Tbe first courses consist of a systematic study of tbe development and origin of the tissues and organs of tbe higher plants, not omitting the important morphology and histology of the lower orders. Dean Charles W. Ballard, the head of the department. Professor Fancbon Hart and Mr. Frank J. Pokorny teach tbese courses. Tbe parts of tbese plants applying specifically to Pharmacy are ob- served and studied in tbe Macroscopic and Microscopic pharmacy courses taught by Professor Harry Taub and assisted by Mr. Samuel Zweig. Here tbe gross and minute observations are made with the consideration of possible adulteration and contamination of the United States Pharma- copoeia and National Formulary drugs. These studies are enlarged in the courses that follow, to present the toxic and poisonous properties of drugs and the treatment of such poisons, in the Toxicology and Posology course

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General governmental regulations governing pharmacy, and the rea- sons tor their existence are examined in the Jurisprudence course, also taught by Professor Wimmer. Important medical appliances and sundries so important to the modern pharmacist are studied under Professor Lascoff . Pharmaceutical mathematics taught by Professor Lewis N. Brown pro- vides arithmetical instruction necessary for the very important calculations and determinations encountered in prescription compounding and in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals. The dispensing and manufacturing laboratory training, the former under the supervision of Professor Brown and his assistants, Professor Dorfman and Mr. Joseph Miale, and the latter under the capable hands of Professor Horace Carter and Mr. Herman J. Amsterdam, commence with the compounding of simple prescriptions and the manufacture of common galenicals. The final dispensing course taught in the Senior year presents a polished student well versed in the art of prescription com- pounding. The manufacturing department prepares the modern pharma- cist for the laboratory.

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taught by Professor Harry Taub. The study of Posology deals with the most vital subject; doses, the most thorough knowledge of which is of para- mount importance to the practicing pharmacist. The course in Human Physiology and the course in the Properties and Uses and Drugs taught by Dean Bajlard and Mr. Pokorny present the students with the necessary medical knowledge as the exact functions of human beings. The study of the Properties and Uses of Drugs as its name implies puts the finishing touches on one of the most complete Materia Medica syllabi that is offered anywhere in the country in a four year course. The study of microorganisms, pathogenic and non-pathogenic, is in- cluded in the course on Materia Medica, which presents the subject generally, both in theory and laboratory, and finally concentrating on bacteriology as it may be employed in a modern Pharmacy. Professor Fanchon Hart teaches this course and she is assisted by Mr. Bernard Blumberg. Dr. H. Randolph Halsey, teaches one of the most fascinating courses in the department, Zoology. The perusal of invertebrate and vertebrate anatomy with intensive concentration on the cat. all make for an interesting study. Mr. Frank J. Pokorny assists in the laboratory. Further in keeping with medical knowledge applied to the pharmacist, the equivalent of the American Red Cross Standard course is presented by Dr. Reddan. Franchon Hart Frank J. Pokorny