Historical background of pharmacy profession MCQs With Answer

Introduction: The historical background of the pharmacy profession traces the evolution from ancient materia medica and apothecaries to modern pharmacists, pharmacopeias, and pharmaceutical care. Key milestones include the Ebers Papyrus, Dioscorides’ De Materia Medica, Galen’s galenicals, Avicenna’s Canon, the 1240 separation of pharmacy and medicine, and the rise of pharmacopeias such as the U.S. Pharmacopeia (1820), British Pharmacopoeia (1864), and Indian Pharmacopoeia (1955). In India, the Pharmacy Act (1948), PCI (1949), and Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (2004) shaped education, standards, and regulation. Understanding apothecary practice, industrial pharmacy, clinical pharmacy (1960s), and pharmaceutical care (1990) is crucial for B. Pharm exams. Now let’s test your knowledge with 30 MCQs on this topic.

Q1. Which ancient document (c. 1550 BCE) is one of the earliest records of medicinal recipes and materia medica?

• Ebers Papyrus
• Hippocratic Oath
• Magna Carta of Pharmacy
• De Materia Medica

Correct Answer: Ebers Papyrus

Q2. Who authored the influential pharmacological treatise “De Materia Medica” in the first century CE?

• Galen
• Hippocrates
• Dioscorides
• Avicenna

Correct Answer: Dioscorides

Q3. Galen’s major contribution to pharmacy is best reflected in which concept?

• Antiseptic surgery
• Systematic compounding of “galenicals”
• Discovery of penicillin
• Vaccination

Correct Answer: Systematic compounding of “galenicals”

Q4. The 1240 decree by Emperor Frederick II (Magna Carta of Pharmacy) primarily mandated which reform?

• State ownership of pharmacies
• Separation of pharmacy from medicine with regulation of apothecaries
• Nationalization of drug manufacturing
• Abolition of compounding

Correct Answer: Separation of pharmacy from medicine with regulation of apothecaries

Q5. Which publication is widely regarded as the first government-recognized pharmacopoeia?

• British Pharmacopoeia (1864)
• Pharmacopoeia Londinensis (1618)
• U.S. Pharmacopeia (1820)
• Nuovo Receptario Fiorentino (1498)

Correct Answer: Nuovo Receptario Fiorentino (1498)

Q6. The earliest privately owned apothecary shops are recorded in which city and approximate year?

• Baghdad, around 754 CE
• Alexandria, around 200 BCE
• Florence, around 1498 CE
• London, around 1618 CE

Correct Answer: Baghdad, around 754 CE

Q7. The “Canon of Medicine,” integrating Greco-Arabic pharmaceutics, was written by which scholar?

• Al-Razi (Rhazes)
• Avicenna (Ibn Sina)
• Ibn al-Baitar
• Al-Zahrawi

Correct Answer: Avicenna (Ibn Sina)

Q8. Which Renaissance figure founded iatrochemistry and popularized the idea that “the dose makes the poison”?

• Paracelsus
• Vesalius
• Harvey
• Boyle

Correct Answer: Paracelsus

Q9. Who first isolated morphine from opium in 1805, pioneering alkaloid chemistry?

• Louis Pasteur
• Friedrich Sertürner
• Joseph Lister
• Alexander Fleming

Correct Answer: Friedrich Sertürner

Q10. Pelletier and Caventou are credited with which landmark discovery in 1820?

• Isolation of salicylic acid
• Isolation of quinine
• Synthesis of aspirin
• Discovery of insulin

Correct Answer: Isolation of quinine

Q11. Which tragedy spurred the 1962 Kefauver–Harris Amendments, strengthening drug efficacy requirements?

• Sulfanilamide elixir poisoning
• Thalidomide birth defects
• Chloroquine toxicity
• Digitalis overdose epidemic

Correct Answer: Thalidomide birth defects

Q12. Which publication unified London, Edinburgh, and Dublin standards into a single national pharmacopoeia in 1864?

• Pharmacopoeia Londinensis
• British Pharmacopoeia
• European Pharmacopoeia
• Dispensatorium of Nürnberg

Correct Answer: British Pharmacopoeia

Q13. In which year was the first U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) published?

• 1789
• 1820
• 1864
• 1906

Correct Answer: 1820

Q14. The national professional body founded in 1852 to advance pharmacy in the United States is:

• American Pharmaceutical Association (APhA)
• American Medical Association (AMA)
• Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
• Royal Pharmaceutical Society

Correct Answer: American Pharmaceutical Association (APhA)

Q15. The Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (later Royal) was founded in which year?

• 1617
• 1799
• 1841
• 1906

Correct Answer: 1841

Q16. Who is regarded as the father of pharmacy education in India for initiating formal training at BHU?

• Prof. M. L. Schroff
• Sir Ram Nath Chopra
• Homi J. Bhabha
• Dr. Yellapragada Subbarow

Correct Answer: Prof. M. L. Schroff

Q17. In which year was the Pharmacy Act enacted in India to regulate the profession?

• 1932
• 1940
• 1948
• 1955

Correct Answer: 1948

Q18. The Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) was constituted under the Pharmacy Act in which year?

• 1940
• 1948
• 1949
• 1953

Correct Answer: 1949

Q19. The first edition of the Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP) was published in:

• 1940
• 1950
• 1955
• 1962

Correct Answer: 1955

Q20. The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (as an autonomous institution) was established in:

• 1995
• 2001
• 2004
• 2011

Correct Answer: 2004

Q21. Before 1955, which official pharmacopoeia primarily guided drug standards in India?

• U.S. Pharmacopeia
• Japanese Pharmacopoeia
• British Pharmacopoeia
• European Pharmacopoeia

Correct Answer: British Pharmacopoeia

Q22. The shift from extemporaneous compounding to industrial-scale manufacturing occurred predominantly in which century?

• 17th century
• 18th century
• 19th century
• 20th century

Correct Answer: 20th century

Q23. The clinical pharmacy movement, emphasizing pharmacist involvement in patient care, began mainly in the:

• 1940s
• 1950s
• 1960s
• 1980s

Correct Answer: 1960s

Q24. “Pharmaceutical care” as a professional philosophy was formally articulated in 1990 by:

• Schneider and Hall
• Hepler and Strand
• Goodman and Gilman
• Linus Pauling

Correct Answer: Hepler and Strand

Q25. The term “galenicals” best describes:

• Synthetic small-molecule drugs
• Biotechnological products
• Preparations from crude natural materials made by traditional compounding
• Radioactive pharmaceuticals

Correct Answer: Preparations from crude natural materials made by traditional compounding

Q26. The literal meaning of “pharmacopoeia,” from Greek roots, is:

• Study of drugs
• To make a drug
• Healing knowledge
• Safe medicine

Correct Answer: To make a drug

Q27. In medieval Europe, apothecaries primarily:

• Performed major surgeries
• Prepared and dispensed medications based on prescriptions and formularies
• Conducted randomized clinical trials
• Manufactured vaccines

Correct Answer: Prepared and dispensed medications based on prescriptions and formularies

Q28. The House of Wisdom in Baghdad advanced pharmacy history chiefly by:

• Establishing the first multinational drug company
• Translating and systematizing medical texts, enriching materia medica
• Developing penicillin
• Founding the British Pharmacopoeia

Correct Answer: Translating and systematizing medical texts, enriching materia medica

Q29. Which Indian legislation provides the legal framework for import, manufacture, and sale of drugs and cosmetics?

• Pharmacy Act, 1948
• Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940
• Medicines Act, 1968
• Consumer Protection Act, 1986

Correct Answer: Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940

Q30. The first college of pharmacy in the United States, founded in 1821, was:

• Philadelphia College of Pharmacy
• Johns Hopkins School of Pharmacy
• Harvard College of Pharmacy
• Columbia College of Pharmacy

Correct Answer: Philadelphia College of Pharmacy

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