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Medicine
Science and art concerned with curing and
preventing disease and preserving health.

Primitive Medicine Early human beings recognized two categories of diseases: those attributed to the influence of evil demons or spirits, and those involving physical disability. Magic was a large part of treatment, but so were cleaning and treating wounds by burning, poultices, and stitching; resetting and splinting dislocations and fractures; purges, diuretics, laxatives, emetics, and enemas. The use of plant extracts as medical treatments was especially important.
As humans formed distinct cultures, the two trends in primitive medicine each became more institutionalized. Sorcerers and priests took up the magico-religious approach. The empirico-rational trend, based on experience and observation and lacking in mystical features, was practiced at first by priests but was taken up increasingly by nonreligious physicians. Modern medicine arose primarily from the empirico-rational trend, as the human body and its functions became better known and as science led medical practice away from superstition and the spiritual realm.

Ancient Medical Practice In ancient Egypt, by the 3rd Dynasty, the physician emerged as an early form of scientist. The Egyptians practiced embalming but their anatomical knowledge remained at a low level, and they attempted only minor surgical procedures. In Assyria and Babylonia, the liver was considered the seat of the soul and was studied to determine the intentions of the gods. Hebrew medicine was influenced by the Old Testament and emphasized hygienic regulations, midwifery, feminine hygiene, separation of the sick, and disinfection of materials capable of harboring and transmitting germs. Ancient Hindu medicine became quite sophisticated, especially in the field of operative surgery. Ancient Chinese medicine utilized acupuncture and a wide array of drugs, including opium.
By the 500s BC, Greek medicine had become thoroughly nonreligious, stressing clinical observation. Greek physicians based their doctrine on experience gained by trial and error. The Greeks eventually identified the brain as the physiological seat of the senses. Greece was the home of Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, and Aristotle, the founder of comparative anatomy.
Greek medicine influenced conquering Rome. Galen, a Greek, was the most important physician of the Roman period and influenced medicine well into the Middle Ages. The Romans made important contributions in the fields of public health and hygiene with their organization of street sanitation, water supply, and public hospitals.

Medicine in the Middle Ages Medical practice reverted to magic during much of the Middle Ages. Classical learning was maintained by only a few Greek physicians. The Arabs, who conquered much of the world in the 7th century AD, learned and revived Greek medicine and became the keepers of the tradition through the Middle Ages. In Europe, medicine became the realm of religious orders such as the Benedictines and was practiced in monasteries, although sometimes shunned in favor of prayer. Eventually, nonreligious medicine became acceptable and began to be taught at universities. The ideas taught there differed little from the ancient Greek teachings taken from Arab manuscripts. Early medical scientists such as English philosopher Roger Bacon made valuable contributions based on experiment and careful observation but did not sway the established traditions.

Renaissance Medicine No abrupt change in medical thought occurred in the Renaissance, but criticism directed against Galen and the Arabists increased, and the doctrines of Hippocrates were revived. Leonardo da Vinci and others of his time made major advances in anatomy, the practice of chemotherapy was founded, and important insights were gained into the nature of contagious diseases. See Bacteriology.

The Dawn of Modern Medicine In the 17th century English physician and anatomist William Harvey demonstrated the method of blood circulation, and a new medical epoch began. Detailed studies of the organs, diseases, and processes such as physiology and respiration quickly followed, conducted by eminent physicians and scientists. Medical debates focused on minute features of the body, how to treat particular diseases, and the nature of life itself, whether physical or chemical. Vitalists believed that the soul is the vital principle (see Vitalism), but mechanists saw the body as a machine and life as a mechanical process. Important advances were made in the 18th century: Italian naturalist and biologist Lazzaro Spallanzani refuted the doctrine of spontaneous generation; Swedish botanist and taxonomist Carolus Linnaeus devised the modern binomial system of biological nomenclature (see Classification); and British physician Edward Jenner discovered the principle of vaccination as a preventive measure against smallpox and established the science of immunization.

Paramedic Neomi Zvi - Feb 2000