HISTORY OF MEDICINE
PEOPLE & PRACTICES
Ancient History
Ancient History was filled with disease,
illness and plagues.
Reasons: overcrowding, open sewers, filth.
Thought to be caused by evil spirits and
demons brought on as a punishment for
disobedience to the gods.
Ancient History cont’
Medical practice became the role of priests
or medicine men.
Treatments involved rituals to cast out
demons.
Trephining: a surgical procedure involving
cutting a hole in the skull with a flint knife
to treat migraines, epilepsy, paralysis, or
insanity.
Egyptian physicians:3000 b.c.
Imhotep: The
Egyptian God of
Medicine
Bloodletting and
leeches..to open
clogged vessels.
Were conservative:
used a Sacred Book to
guide them.*
Egyptians cont’
Priests-studied medicine and surgery
Executed if a patient died.
Babylonians: 2000 b.c.
The ruler of Babylon established a legal
code for medical practice. This set fees for
services and established rules of conduct.
Physicans hands cut off, if pt. Died
(nobility)
Hindus
(2000 b.c.)
World’s first nurses and
hospitals.
Used Anesthesia
Contributed Surgery
Performed cataract and
plastic surgeries
Chinese
The Chinese belief in evil spirits as the
cause of illness gradually changed.
Father of Chinese Medicine: emperor had
documents of Herbal medicines some of
which are still used today.
Acupuncture was used to drive out evil
demons.
Greeks
Asklepios: Greek God
of Healing used
massage, bathing and
exercise in treating
patients.
Used the magical
powers of large yellow
nonpoisonous snakes
Greeks cont’
Snakes licked wounds while patients slept.
The medical caduceus symbolizes the past
use of snakes as treatments.
Greeks cont’
HIPPOCRATES
Father of Medicine:
due to his
accomplishmentsprognostics, fractures,
surgery, and code of
behavior which
became the
HIPPOCRATIC
OATH
Hippocrates cont’
Used observation as a means of assessment
Discovered that listening to a persons chest
could trace certain diseases
Stressed the importance of diet and
cleanliness
Taught that illness was a result of natural
causes…not evil spirits
Aristotle
Contemporary of
Hippocrates…
Philosopher and
scientific genius
Tutor of Alexander the
Great
Brought together
botany,biology and
medicine
Aristotle
His findings were based on animal dissection,
because human dissection was illegal where
he lived.
In Alexandria, Egypt human dissection was
legal..therefore students studied in
Alexandria which was the center for
learning and home of a famous medical
school
Claudius Galen
Physician from Asia Minor
Professed to the teachings of Hippocrates
however ignored the theory of observation.
He believed that illness and disease was a
result of an unbalance in “humors”.
Believed that the body was regulated by the
“four fluids” …blood, phlegm, black bile
and yellow bile.
Claudius Galen
Prescribed diets,
massage, exercise
and drugs to treat
patients.
Romans
Made almost no contributions to medicine,
BUT…
Established superior methods of sanitation
and water supply.
Laws to maintain public health and clean
streets. Built aqueducts, pure water systems
and underground sewer systems.
Romans
Despite these efforts..the pandemic
(occurring at the same time in different
places) bubonic plague afflicted many.
It spread from China through trade routes to
Egypt, North Africa, Syria, and into Europe.
It infected all the known world.