[A forgotten treatise by B. L. Tralles on opium (1774)]

The authors summarize the biography of Tralles (1708-1797) and call attention to his treatise Usus Opii of which very few examples survive, and which constitutes a compendium of the knowledge of the times about opium.

[Pain--life's dreaded companion. Cultural history of algology and the most important achievements]

Pain is a comprehensive phenomenon which concerns not only physiology, biochemistry and molecular biology but also music, art, religion, philosophy and everyday life. The early contributions to the development of the specificity theory is described, as are some of the important discoveries in the history of algology, such as Baillou's description of rheumatism, Heberden's description of angina pectoris and the development of the gate control theory. Despite a number of important discoveries and a much improved knowledge in basic science pain is still the dreaded companion of mankind.