[A brief history of the development of Turkish pharmacognosy]

1839-1909: The Foundation Period: The education of pharmacy through the apprenticeship system ended up as a "Pharmacology Branch" of the "Military Medical School" which was founded in 1839 in Istanbul during the Ottoman Empire. A "Civil Pharmacology Branch" was founded in 1867. The education of pharmacognosy, called "Matiere Medicale" and "Mufredat-i Tip" too, was started during this period. 1909 (1913)-1945: The Institutionalization Period; The education of pharmacognosy as it is understood today was included in the curriculum of the Pharmacology School in 1909, before the foundation of the Turkish Republic; however, the pharmacognosy education was eventually started in 1913. During this period, the School of Pharmacology was administratively a part of the Medical School: and later the School of Science; then it was reattached to the Medical School, yet it had its own separate building. 1945-1963: The Period of Development: This is the period when academic studies on pharmacognosy started and a "Pharmacognosy Institute" was established as a part of the Pharmacology School of the Medical School in 1945. Professor doctor Sarim Celebioglu, who had a Ph.D from Berlin University, was appointed as a director of this institute and directed it until 1962. Approximately for 40 years the education and research on pharmacognosy and pharmaceutical botany was handled only in the Istanbul University. 1962-1997: Reform and Improvement Period: Today there are eight pharmacology schools in Turkey; three in Ankara, one in Erzurum (1997), one in Eskisehir, two in Instanbul and one in Izmir. Pharmacognosy education is carried out in all of these schools. Additionally, there are three research centers which were founded by the pharmacognosy divisions of the Ankara, Anadolu and Istanbul Universities.