In the past, diseases were based on religion, superstition, and belief but not on science. People used to think that disease is caused by the decision of God. Hippocrates, the father of western medicine, attempts to think about the disease and found to be caused by environmental factors like climate, pollution, lifestyle, and poor nutrition. In the middle ages, quarantine was the only method to keep away from the
The Greeks went even further, introducing the concepts of medical diagnosis, prognosis, and advanced medical ethics. The Hippocratic Oath, still taken by doctors up to today, was written in Greece in the 5th century BCE. The germ theory of disease in the 19th century led to cures for many infectious diseases. Public health measures were developed especially in the 19th century as the rapid growth of cities required systematic sanitary measures. Advanced research centers opened in the early 20th century, mid-20th century was characterized by new biological treatments, such as antibiotics. These advancements, along with developments in chemistry, genetics, and lab technology led to modern medicine. Medicine was heavily professionalized in the 20th century, and new careers opened to women as nurses and as physicians. The 21st century is characterized by highly advanced research involving numerous fields of science.
Although medicine today is comparatively more advanced, that is a more recent change than one would like to think. For instance, not even 150 years ago, “Hippocrates and Galen would have recognized and largely agreed with most medical practices.” Barry addresses this topic of medical advancement at the beginning of his book by producing a well researched, albeit a little too long, history of western medicine. He provides examples of how medicine evolved from the teachings of Hippocrates, Galen, and Vesalius to a more “modern” form of medicine. This was done in order to explain how prepared the medical community was in the face of this impending virus. Unlike the other epidemics, the people of the early 19-century should have been prepared to face the influenza with all of their exciting and new medical equipment and practices, but there was something in their way of advancement—universities.
Although the Christian church was very involved with public health, it wasn’t the only church embracing science. In fact, medicine and public
The passage On the Sacred Disease, is an examination into the alleged 'sacred disease' of epilepsy. Although many of the anatomic and bodily propositions were incorrect, Hippocrates concepts were closer to the diagnostics and teachings of today than those of metaphysical reasoning. For these reasons, On the Sacred Disease provided a structural understanding of diseases in our bodies today.
Nowadays, medicine is tested and approved before it hits the market. Back in the days a person would pass treatments through word of mouth and could seriously injure or make the disease worse. People in historical times would believe that illnesses involved certain spiritual, psychological and social aspects of a person. This was back in the time where there was no scientific evidence that traditional medicine could aid an affected person. Traditional medicine has been around much longer than modern medicine and they were an important part of recorded history. People back in the old days had to dispel and challenge folklore with scientific evidence. Doctors back in the old days had to not only find a way to dispel folklore, but also get ordinary people to listen to them and to help them believe in their practices. Without all of these people, medicine would be nowhere near as it is
This is one area which contrasts greatly with the native cultures. The Indians of the Americas were far ahead of the Europeans of their time. Because of the closeness and respect for nature, many natural cures were used. The Aztecs had even gone as far as surgery to remove organs and even work on the brain. The Indians also took much better care of themselves pysically. This was done by a better diet and exercise. In some cultures a type of martial arts was taught beginning in adolesence, to keep in shape both mentally and pysically. Despite all of these advancements, they were powerless to the new and unfamilliar European diseases.
With lacking medical knowledge, people never really grasped the concept or the cause of this epidemic; therefore, they did not know what to do to help cure or stop the spread of it. “In spite of only sketchy medical knowledge, the epidemiology of the plague was fully understood by the 18th century. It took many years of research, after the fact, to finally comprehend all the ins
In the early 1800s, both in Europe and in the United States, physicians with formal medical training began to stress the idea that germs and social conditions might cause and spread disease, especially in cities. Many municipalities created "dispensaries" that dispensed medicines to the poor and offered free physician services. Epidemics of cholera, diphtheria, tuberculosis, and yellow fever, and concerns about sanitation and hygiene, led many city governments to create departments of health. New advances in studying bacteria were put to practical use as "germ theory" became the accepted cause for illness. It was in the face of epidemics and poor sanitation, government-sponsored public health, and healthcare that private healthcare began to systematically diverge.
Repeatedly throughout human history disease, and illness epidemics have altered the timelines of many civilizations across our globe. Thousands of diseases have been progressively recorded over time, nonetheless many of them have been eradicated due to the evolution of medical advancements. In today’s modern history new diseases are continuously discovered, while a few remain persistent from the past. An extravagant amount of history surrounds epidemics, they can lead to the social explanations for human’s actions during a time.
The improvement of medicine over the course of the human successes gave great convenience to the people of today. Science has cured and prevented many illnesses from occurring and is on its way to cure some of the most dreadful and harmful illnesses. As the world modernizes due to the industrialization, so does the ways of medicine. Some cures are approached by chance, some, through intense, scientific measures.
The word cancer comes from the word Karkinos which is greek language. Physician hippocrates used this word to describe carcinoma tumors sometime between the periods 460-379 B.C. Although there were many accounts and evidence of cancer before, which were found in mummies in ancient Egypt during the period 1600 B.C. The oldest evidence of cancer was found in 1500 B.C in a tomb in egypt. Cancer treatment were non existence during those days. There were small palliative treatments which relieved pain and suffering temporarily. However we still use similar surgical treatment for surfaced tumors today that was used during that period. Early hippocrates also discovered that cancer returned after surgery. Cancer treatments has evolved tremendously
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There have been many clashes between the Bible and modern works of science in the Dark Ages. During this time, modern science was not accepted in that society because the many beliefs of people were solely based on the Bible. When the plague struck in 1347, many people contracted the disease. They would go see religious doctors who would tell them to pray and based medical assumptions on astrology. The doctor would not look at the symptoms of the patient but by the position of the stars to cure the sick. (Doc 7) The Muslims used modern tools and advancements in healthcare to treat their patients as well as recorded their findings in encyclopedias. (Doc 8) They had special diagrams of the human body (Doc 13) to track a specific spot on the body for treatment. Both Europeans and Muslims had some form of medical science to treat patients. The Europeans used
Health problems in today’s world vs. medieval times are major. In todays time when you get sick you usually just assume it’s from not washing your hands enough or from simply being around someone else being sick. In medieval times they actually believed that if you contracted a disease or
During this time, surgeries became more frequent for the curing of disease and injury from frequent wars, and these surgeries were sometimes accompanied by early forms of anesthesia and pain relief from opioids. It should be noted that even during this time of advancement of medicine, spiritual healing continued to remain in widespread practice and belief. Healthcare continued its path forwards into the modern era. Microbiology and Germ Theory concepts became apparent to the field of medicine in the 1800’s as a result of the need to better prevent disease and stop contagious diseases from spreading. Healthcare practitioners first began to realize that microorganisms could cause illness and infection, and despite some level of significant pushback, these concepts were eventually proven (Larson, 1989).