Page 6 - Pharmacy History 29 July 2006

Book review by Geoff Miller
Poison Arrows
by Stanley Feldman
Published by Metro Publishing, London 2005. Australian price $35.00 HB.
For those of you who like a book which expands on the knowledge we all gained as student pharmacists, reluctantly or otherwise, about pharmacognosy and materia medica this book is one to add to your library
It is an easy to read story of the discovery of the muscle relaxant and ancient arrow poison, curare.
Investigating curare has led to enormous changes in medical treatments and procedures, among them modern anaesthetics, muscle relaxants and the fashionable botox treatments.
The chapter on the mongoose’s immunity to the deadly poisons of snakes is alone worth the price of Poison Arrows.
In the 16th century, when explorers travelled deep into the jungles of South America in search of gold and spices, they brought back many colourful tales of their adventures to amaze and impress their sponsors. None of these tales was more astonishing, or caused more concern, than that of the mystical properties of the substance with which the natives anointed their darts and arrows. They described, in some detail, ‘the flying death’, caused by the magical South American arrow poison extracted from the bark of the creeper Chondrodendron tomentosum.
So begins the astonishing true story of the discovery
of one of the most important substances in medical science. Curare, known as ‘the flying death’, was to become the cornerstone of modern anaesthetics and went on to provide the key to how we understand the nervous system. It led to drugs as diverse as diarrhoea pills, Prozac and beta-blockers. More recently it has led to our understanding of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Professor Stanley Feldman, for many years a leading light in modern anaesthetics, has pieced together
the incredible story of this most valuable substance. This brilliantly written and engaging tale illuminates the secret history of a branch of medical science that stands beside such milestones as Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin and Edward Jenner’s discovery of vaccination.
One of the unseen benefits of the understanding of the use of muscle relaxants in anaesthesia led to the end of the iron lung for poliomyelitis victims.
This absorbing book unravels the many mysteries and modern miracles of medical science that we so often take for granted.
6 ■ Pharmacy History Australia
volume 3 ■ no 29 ■ JuLY 2006