[The century of the receptor, history of ideas that launched psychopharmacology].

Nowadays, the term receptor is obvious in psychopharmacology. However, this was not so obvious a century ago. To try to explain how drugs act, European scientists began to develop theories that turned into deeds with the scientific progress. Thus, the receptor concept and their applications in medicine and psychiatry began to gain substance. In this paper we relate the facts that have led to the current knowledge of receptor, the cornerstone of pharmacology.