[Pharmacy in Canton Vaud during the period of radical domination: 1845-1945]

Between 1845 and 1945, major changes took place both in society and in pharmacy. These two dates represent important phases of mutation for the pharmacy profession. In 1845, university studies were about to become compulsory. Towards 1945, the prodigious development of patent medicines had been disconcerting the pharmaceutical community. In this time period, pharmacy had taken a more modern face: School of pharmacy was founded (1873), professional associations were being formed up and the first hospital pharmacy was established in 1882. Politically, this period of time was marked by the hegemony of the Radical party. Society was at a turning point. The expanding railway network and the development of industry in certain regions were influencing the implantation of pharmacies and their unequal distribution in the Canton. Based on archive documents, the different aspects of pharmacy in Canton Vaud at this epoch have been examined and analyzed. In particular, evolution of legislation and of professional training have been studied with reference to previous time periods or to the situation in other cantons of countries.The creation and development of professional associations has also been treated. One chapter is devoted to a brief description of the careers of more than one hundred pharmacists. The activities of the Cantonal Hospital pharmacy are also outlined, as well as the increase in the number of pharmacies within the context of economical growth in different regions of the Canton. Tables and addenda are used to support the discussions in the different chapters. This study should allow the present generation of pharmacists to have a better knowledge of the history of their profession and thus understand its evolution.