ADAM UNIVERSITY
HIGHER SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Department of morphological, therapeutic and surgical
disciplines
Lecturer: PhD. JOLUEVA PARISHTA
Lecture #1
Theme:
Introduction to the subject.
Healing in primitive society.
Plan
1. Definition, purpose, objectives, principles of the history of
medicine.
2. Periodization of the history of medicine and sources of study.
3. Healing in Primitive society (periods of formation, blossoming
and decomposition).
4. Mystical beliefs in the healing of primitive society (totemism,
fetishism, animism, magic).
5. Folk, traditional and scientific medicine.
1. Definition, purpose, objectives,
principles of the history of medicine.
Medicine
• Medicine - (Latin ”medicina” from
“medicus” – medical, medicinal) is an area
of scientific and practical activity aimed at
maintaining and strengthening health,
diagnosing, treating and preventing
diseases, prolonging life.
History of medicine: definition
• History of medicine is a science that
studies the development of medical theory
and practice in close connection with the
development of society, the change of
socio-economic formations, the history of
the culture of peoples.
Methods used in the study of the history of medicine
Historical
Archaeological
Analytical
Anthropological
Philosophical
Statistical
Analysis and synthesis
Other methods
Purpose of the history of medicine
• The purpose of the history of
medicine is to study the past of
medicine
in
order
to
better
understand its present and to be able
to develop strategies for its future
development.
Objectives of the history of
medicine(1)
1. To reveal the general patterns of development of
healing and medicine;
2. To provide students with a historical perspective on
the role that health, medicine and disease play in
modern society and to prepare students for a critical
analysis of historical and contemporary health issues.
3. To give students the opportunity to correlate various
medical areas that are seemingly not related to each
other.
Objectives of the history of
medicine(2)
4. to understand not only the progressive phases of
medicine, but also periods of stagnation or regression,
because knowing the negative experience of the past,
you can avoid mistakes in the future.
5. To develop and teach the professional ethical values
and humanism.
6. To instill in students the love for the medical
profession.
Principles of the History of Medicine
1. Historicism is the development of world medicine
should be considered in connection with specific
historical periods (change of socio-economic formations,
culture of peoples, level of knowledge about nature,
religion, art, etc.)
2. Combination of national and international means
that the medicine of any nation develops in cooperation
with medicine of other nations, at the same time it has
its own national characteristics.
3. Continuity of ideas and discoveries
in medicine means that any new ideas and
discoveries are based on the work of
previous scientists.
4. Reliability means that the study of the
history of medicine should be based on
reliable data, sources and events.
How to study the history of
medicine(1)
• It is important to make an effort to memorize
different names and dates from medical history
because they will help students to more easily
internalize some diseases and syndromes that
have their own names.
• It is more useful to remember the century or
historical period in which different prominent
personalities lived, and not the years of their
birth and death.
How to study the history of
medicine(2)
• It is important to remember not all
the titles of books written by
scientists, but only those that led to
the progress of medicine. For
example, the title of the book by
Andreas Vesalius (16th century) "De
humani corporis fabrica", because it
marked a turning point in the
development of anatomy.
How to study the history of
medicine(3)
• Learn to understand and comprehend medical
events from different points of view: how to
relate unrelated medical directions, or how the
same discovery can occur several times with
an interval of centuries and continuously.
For example, students will be able to understand
why
the
eminent
anatomist
Giovanni
Battista
Morgagni (1682–1771) is considered the father of
modern pathology. Or students will learn that
cataract surgery, considered a modern surgery
operation, was practiced in antiquity and was
mentioned by Aulus Cornelius Celsus (c. 25 BC - c.
50 AD).
Sections of the History of Medicine
• 1. General history of medicine studies the
development of medicine in general and in
connection with the development of natural
science, technology, worldview.
• 2. Private history of medicine studies the
development of individual medical branches.
Sources of studying the history of medicine
• 1. Sources before the invention of writing: data
from archeology, paleontology, paleopathology, images
of rock art.
• 2.
Sources with the invention of writing:
manuscripts, printed texts of doctors, historians,
statesmen and military leaders, philosophers, materials
of linguistics, fine arts, ethnography, folk epos, folklore,
photographic and film documents.
Sources of study of the history of medicine
before the invention of writing
Sources of studying the history of medicine with
the invention of writing
Archeology – is the science that studies the life and
culture of ancient peoples on the basis of preserved
material monuments
Anthropology- is the science of the origin and evolution of
man the formation of human races and the normal
variations in the physical structure
Paleopathology- studies pathological changes in the
tissues of primitive man, the remains of his skeleton
Paleobiology- is the study of the biological properties of
the remains of ancient people using radiobiological and
immunological methods
2. Periodization of World History
The study of the history of medicine is based on the periodization
of world history - division according to socio-economic formations.
In each formation, medicine has its own peculiarities.
Periodization of World History:
1. The history of primitive society - 2 million years, 4-1
millennium BC.
2. History of the Ancient World - 4th millennium BC.
3. History of the Middle Ages - 476-1640 years.
4. The history of New Times - 1640-1918 years.
5. The history of Modern Times - from 1918 to present times.
3. Medicine in Primitive society (periods of
formation, blossoming and decomposition).
The history of medicine during the development of
Primitive society is the longest period of medicine
development that takes 99% of the entire period.
Three stages are distinguished in the Primitive
society development history:
Stage 1: the formation of Primitive society (over 2
million years).
Stage 2: the blossoming of Primitive
society (about 40 thousand years).
Stage 3: the decomposition of Primitive
society (10–5 millennium BC)
Healing during the formation of Primitive
society (over 2 million years).
Beginnings of healing in the earliest people
• knew the healing and toxic properties of some
plants, animal organs, minerals;
• took care of sick fellows;
• had the rudiments of hygiene skills (burned
caves);
• there were no burials.
Healing of ancient people
knew the painful conditions associated with
nutrition;
possessed techniques of self-help and
mutual assistance (with injuries);
collected medicinal plants and used them
for treatment;
knew such plants as yarrow, centaury,
crosswort, ephedra, marshmallow.
Diseases of primitive people
The study of the remains of
primitive man showed:
• bones bear traces of traumatic
injuries and serious diseases
such as arthritis, tumors,
tuberculosis,
• spinal curvatures,
• dental caries.
Healing at the blossoming of Primitive
society (1).
•At this time, the communal-clan system
was formed (hunters, gatherers,
fishermen, cattle breeders).
•The tribal community at the beginning
of this period was a collective of equal
people in labor activity and in the
consumption
and
distribution
of
products.
Kinship was established between the
descendants of one mother, this led to
the emergence of matriarchy (the head
of the clan is woman). The work of a
woman was mainly associated with
housing, cooking, clothing.
In
the
field
of
medicine,
the
accumulation of empirical knowledge
about the healing properties of natural
resources continued.
Healing at the blossoming of
Primitive society(2).
• people continued to use herbal and animal remedies;
• Used physical methods (massage, bowel lavage, etc.);
• possessed the techniques of surgical treatment
(treated wounds with drugs);
• splints were applied for fractures;
• knew the intoxicating and narcotic effect of natural
remedies for pain relief;
• applied bloodletting.
Healing during the decomposition of
primitive society
The decomposition of primitive society took place in two
main forms: patriarchy and matriarchy. The treatment
during this period was as follows:
• traditional skills and techniques developed;
• the range of medicines was expanding;
• obstetrics were improved;
• instruments for healing were made of
metal (copper, bronze, iron);
• limb amputation was used;
• provided medical assistance to the
wounded during the wars;
• performed ritual circumcision;
• performed cesarean section operations.
4. Mystical beliefs in the healing
of primitive society
Powerlessness in front of nature gave rise to fantastic
ideas about the world around primitive people and
the first religious ideas, which were reflected in the
methods of healing.
• Totemism is a person's belief in the existence of a
close kinship between his genus and a certain type
of animal or plant.
Fetishism (fetico - amulet, talisman) is a
belief in the supernatural properties of
inanimate objects. At first, this belief extended
to tools of labor, and then to amulets and
talismans, for example, against plague,
cholera, etc.
Animism (anima - soul) is faith in souls,
spirits and the general spiritualization of
nature.
• Magic (mageia - witchcraft)is belief in the
ability of a person to influence other
people, objects, events or natural
phenomena in a supernatural way; healing
magic - healing wounds and ailments as a
result of a ritual, which at the beginning
could be performed by relatives, and then
only by the elders of the clan.
The concept of disease in primitive people
The cult of ancestors was reflected
in the ideas of primitive man about
the causes of diseases, the
occurrence of which was understood
as a result of the spirit of a
deceased ancestor entering the body
of a sick person.
Ritual rituals to drive out the spirit of
disease
Rituals associated with the expulsion
of the spirit of disease include:
• craniotomy (trepanation of skull),
• ”sucking out the spirit of disease"
with a buffalo horn,
• feeding a sick person bitter food
All this gave rise to shamanism (the
use of medicines and cult rites).
Healer training
• healers were trained individually;
• knowledge was kept secret and
passed on from parent to children
or a capable child in the tribe;
• the task of the medicine man was
to maintain the health of the
community
(physical
and
spiritual).
Healing during the period of decay of primitive society (10-50 mln bc)
The decomposition of primitive society took place in two main forms:
patriarchy and matriarchy.
The treatment during this period was:
 Traditional skills and techniques developed
 The range of medicines was expanded
 Obstetrics were improved
 Instruments for healing were made of metal (copper, bronze, iron)
 Began to use amputation of limbs
 Provided medical assistance to the wounded during the wars
 Performed ritual circumcision
 Performed cesarean section operations.
During the period of decay, intratribal stratification
occurs, the strengthening of the cult of religious ideas.
This led to the emergence of professional worshipers
with the formation of healing magic. Folk and religious
mystical medicine developed.
5. Folk, traditional and scientific
medicine.
•
Traditional medicine - includes a
set of means and methods of folk
healing, developed as a result of
empirical experience throughout the
history of mankind.
Traditional medicine
• Traditional medicine is a body of knowledge and skills
(regardless of whether they have received a logical
explanation), used in the processes of prevention,
diagnosis and treatment of physical, mental and social
health disorders and relying solely on practice and
observation, transmitted from generation to generation
through oral and writing.
• Examples of traditional medicine: Chinese, Ayurvedic,
Tibetan traditional systems.
Scientific medicine
• Scientific medicine is associated
with a scientific experiment, during
which empirical knowledge and
philosophical ideas are tested,
harmonious,
scientifically
based
concepts, hypotheses and theories
are created.
Dear students!!!
Do not miss lectures,
do your home work on time.
Thank you!