|
|
The word drug comes from the Dutch word droog (meaning "dry"). For centuries, most drugs came from dried plants, hence the name.
More than 30% of American adults, and about 12% of children utilize health care approaches that were developed outside of conventional medicine.
More than nineteen million Americans carry the factor V gene that causes blood clots, pulmonary embolism, and heart disease.
When Gabriel Fahrenheit invented the first mercury thermometer, he called "zero degrees" the lowest temperature he was able to attain with a mixture of ice and salt. For the upper point of his scale, he used 96°, which he measured as normal human body temperature (we know it to be 98.6° today because of more accurate thermometers).
Approximately 25% of all reported medication errors result from some kind of name confusion.