Abstract—This study reviews the developmental history of aspirin (Fig. 1), its clinical applications and adverse reactions, and analyses current research challenges to provide a reference for its rational clinical use. Relevant literature on aspirin’s origin, synthesis, mechanism, and clinical research was comprehensively combed and summarized. Aspirin exerts antipyretic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antiplatelet effects by irreversibly inhibiting Cyclooxygenase (COX) activity. It is a core drug for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease prevention, and has potential value in gastrointestinal cancer prevention, pre-eclampsia prophylaxis, and Kawasaki disease treatment. However, it has adverse reactions such as gastrointestinal irritation, and aspirin resistance limits its clinical application. Aspirin is a typical representative of the integration of traditional medicine and modern science, and it still occupies an important position in clinical practice after a century of development. In the future, research on aspirin should focus on personalized precision medication, the development of safer formulations, the exploration of new indications, and the in-depth excavation of its non-COX pathway mechanisms, which will further unlock its clinical value and bring more benefits to human health..
 
Keywords—aspirin, acetylsalicylic acid, developmental history, clinical application, adverse reaction, aspirin resistance

Cite: Xinyue Zhang, "Aspirin’s Centenary Journey: From a Historic Discovery to a Cornerstone of Modern Medicine," International Journal of Pharma Medicine and Biological Sciences, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 60-65, 2026.

Copyright © 2026 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).