Includes bibliographical references and index.

Evolution, human migration, diseases, and treatments -- Ancient medicine and the discovery of natural therapeutic agents -- History of anesthesia, acupuncture, hypnosis, mesmerism, anesthetics, and hypnotics -- Emergence of modern medicine -- Contributions of anatomists and physiologists to the neurofunctional outline of the nervous system -- Pharmacology comes of age -- Discovery of receptors and related events : a century of receptors and transduction -- Development of drug laws and quantitation -- Drug discoveries -- Growth of the drug industry, research institutions, and universities.