Pre- and Ancient History of Medicine

Pre- and Ancient History of Medicine
Prehistoric man looked upon illness as a spiritual event. The ill person was seen as having a spiritual failing or being possessed by demons. Medicine practiced during this period and for centuries onward focused on removing these demons and cleansing the body (and/or spirit) of the ill person.

Trephination (holes made in the skull to vent evil spirits or vapors) and religious rituals were the means to heal.

With advanced in civilization, healers focused on “treatments” that seemed to work. They used herbal (vegetable) medicines and became more skilled as surgeons.

About 4000 years ago the Code of Hammurabi listed penalties for bad outcomes in surgery. The surgeon lost his hand if the patient died.

The prevailing medical theories of this area and the next few millennia involved manipulation of various forms of energy passing through the body.

Health required a balance of these energies. The energy had different names depending on where the theory was developed.

The ancient Chinese system of medicine as based upon the duality o the universe.

Yin and Yang represented the fundamental forces in a dualistic cosmic theory that bound the universe together.

The first systematic study of human anatomy didn’t occur until the mid eighteenth century.

It consisted of the inspection of children who had died of plaque and been torn apart by dogs.

Medicine in ancient India was also very complex. Medical theory included seven substances: blood, flesh, fat, marrow, chyle and semen. From extant records, we know that surgical operations were performed in India as early as 800 BC, including kidney-stone removal and plastic surgery (replacement of amputated noses, the punishment for adultery).

Diet and hygiene were crucial to curing in Indian medicine and clinical diagnosis was highly developed, depending as much on the nature of the life of the patient as on his symptoms.

Other remedies included herbal medications, surgery, and the “five procedures”: emetics, purgatives, water enemas, oil enemas and sneezing powders.

Anatomy was learned from bodies that were soaked in the river for a week and then pulled apart. Indian physician knows a lot about bones, muscles, ligaments and joints but not much about nerves, blood vessels, or internal organs.

Greek began to systematize medicine about the same time as the Nei Ching (oldest medical textbooks in China) appeared in China.

Although Hippocratic medical principles are considered archaic, his principles of the doctor patent relationship are still followed today.

In Rome, Galen created anatomical descriptions of the human body based primarily on the dissection of animals.

The Middle Ages saw the continued practice of Greek and Roman medicine. Most people turned to folk medicine that was usually performed by village elders who healed using their experiences with local herbs.

Arab medicine introduced the use of chemical medications, the study of chemistry and more expensive surgery.
Pre- and Ancient History of Medicine