I try to keep my weekend posts light, and today is no different. As I sit here waiting for the rest of the Fahrni crew to come to life I ran across a tweet from Garry Sykes that simply said “tool of the trade….very occasionally!” Following the link in the tweet takes you to a photo of a mortar and pestle.
The mortar and pestle is an iconic symbol of the pharmacist, and mostly represents a day long past. There are still some pharmacies that use a mortar and pestle to perform their daily mission, but for the most part our profession has moved on. I spent several years in a compounding only pharmacy in the Bay Area of California where I became quite familiar with the uses for this particular piece of equipment. And following my graduation from pharmacy school I started receiving them as gifts for Christmas, birthdays and sometimes just because someone saw one that they thought was neat. While I’m sure some pharmacists have much bigger collections than mine, I have managed to gather quite a fair number over the past decade. I find the history of pharmacy as interesting as many other aspects of the profession.
I bet most people don’t really think about mortar and pestles. Heck, even most pharmacists probably don’t think about them much nowadays either. Because the mortar and pestle is rarely thought of, it’s hard to find information on their rich history in our profession. A cursory search of the internet revealed little information. This document from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia provides some information, but not much. If anyone knows of a good online source for pharmacy history please pass it my way. There must be a zealous professor of pharmacy out there with information worth sharing.
Anyway, the difference between the tools I used to use and the tools I use to do my job now couldn’t be more different. I’ve mentioned before how newer technology is starting to replace my “older” technology. Except for a few rare exceptions, the mortar and pestle has been replaced by new technology. Whether that technology is in the form of an electronic mortar and pestle or new manufacturing processes makes little difference. The fact remains that the mortar and pestle is slowly fading into obscurity. I am well aware that developing new technology and methods for drug preparation is a necessity, but I also understand the need to keep our professional history alive. And the mortar and pestle is a piece of that history.