AxoVember,PiSr* }    Pharmacy  and  Medicine  in  Egypt.  507 
they  are  of  two  different  kinds.  Also  they  described  and  designated 
the  covering  of  the  brain,  the  striped  muscles,  nervous  system,  and 
studied  the  anatomy  of  the  eye.  Both  these  physicians  were  indeed 
the  principal  support  of  medical  history. 
Pharmacy  in  the  Ptolemaic  period  was  not  so  progressive  as 
compared  with  medicine,  because  those  who  practised  it  gave  most 
of  their  time  to  the  medical  investigators  and  surgical  discoveries. 
Philosophy,  science,  and  other  branches,  especially  pharmacy  and 
medicine,  were  taught  in  the  University  of  Alexandria.  The  Society 
of  Scientists  and  Scholars,  headed  by  the  king,  was  attracted  by  the 
wise  men  from  all  the  world,  and  the  membership  fee  was  the  pre- 
sentation of  a  book,  either  written  by  the  member  himself  or  by  a 
famous  writer  of  his  land,  to  the  public  libraries  of  Alexandria.  The 
works  of  Hippocrates,  the  greatest  man  in  pharmacy  and  medicine 
of  the  time,  were  bought  by  Ptolemy,  who  paid  the  highest  prices, 
so  that  his  library  would  be  complete. 
Claudius  Galenus,  commonly  known  as  Galen,  was  the  last  of 
the  great  scholars  of  the  Alexandrian  schools  and  the  most  celebrated 
of  ancient  writers.  He  wrote  over  500  books  on  various  subjects, 
gathered  up  all  the  medical  and  pharmaceutical  knowledge  of  his 
time  and  left  it  as  the  authoritative  account  of  sciences  for  centuries. 
He  was  a  celebrated  physician,  pharmacist,  and  philosopher.  Phar- 
maceutical preparations  of  drugs,  as  tinctures,  extracts,  infusions, 
and  decoctions,  etc.,  still  bear  his  name,  being  known  as  galenicals. 
Libraries. — The  Alexandrian  libraries,  ten  in  number,  were  the 
most  important,  as  they  were  the  most  celebrated,  of  the  ancient 
world.  They  were  organized  and  properly  established  in  separate 
buildings.  The  number  of  volumes  was  very  large.  Nearly  two- 
thirds  of  the  number  were  medical  and  pharmaceutical,  and  the 
balance  were  chemical,  philosophical,  and  scientific  books,  etc.  The 
libraries  were  in  flourishing  condition  until  they  were  destroyed, 
after  the  conquest  of  Alexandria,  by  Caesar  setting  fire  to  the  fleet  in 
the  harbor,  the  flames  accidentally  extending  to  the  large  library. 
Thus,  as  the  result  of  the  unnecessary  evils  of  a  war,  nearly  four  cen- 
turies of  wisdom  of  these  intelligent  men  was  put  to  an  end  in  a 
year,  a  month,  or  even  in  one  day. 
Mediaeval  Period  (641-1517  a.d.). — The  mediaeval  or  the  Ara- 
bian period  began  with  the  invasion  of  Alexandria  by  Mohammedans 
under  the  Caliph  Omar,  641  a.d.  With  little  difficulty  the  army  of 
the  Caliph  wrested  Egypt  from  the  Romans.    This  conquest  lasted 
