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Pedanius Dioscorides

De materia medica

De materia medica (“On Medical Material” or “On Medicinal Substances”) is one of the most influential works in the history of medicine and pharmacology. It was written around the first century CE by Pedanius Dioscorides, a Greek physician from Cilicia.

Dioscorides described the medicinal properties of hundreds of plants and minerals, including their appearance, distinguishing characteristics, and methods of preparation, making De Materia Medica one of the earliest known textbooks of pharmacology.

Cilicia (shown in yellow), an ancient region, corresponds to southern Turkey today
Pedanius Dioscorides was born in Cilicia (shown in yellow), an ancient region corresponding to southern Turkey today. He traveled extensively as a military physician in the Roman army and studied medicinal plants and remedies across different regions.

One of the most spectacular surviving copies is the Vienna Dioscurides, produced in Constantinople around 512 CE. It is exhibited in the Austrian National Library and listed in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme

https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world/vienna-dioscurides

A group of pharmacology faculty from Vanderbilt University visited Vienna, where they had the opportunity to see the "Vienna Dioscurides".

Label in the Austrian National Library
Codex in the Austrian National Library
Label and codex in the Austrian National Library
Austrian National Library, Vienna
Austrian National Library, Vienna
Showcase in the Austrian National Library
Showcase in the Austrian National Library
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The chairs of the Departments of Pharmacology and Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University, at the Josephinum, Vienna, Austria. The display case contains “Pharmazeutische Materialien aus dem Nachlass von Oleh Hornykiewicz" (Pharmaceutical materials from the estate of Oleh Hornykiewicz), who was a pioneer in Parkinson’s disease research and treatment.