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Mesopotamian Medicine Essay

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Although it is not as well-studied as Egyptian medicine, Mesopotamian medicine, while starkly different from modern medical practices, has significantly impacted the history of medicine. To understand the importance of these early medical practices, it is necessary to examine the spiritual background, system of treatment, and extent and limitations of Mesopotamian medicine. To the Mesopotamians, medicine was directly tied to religion. While they recognized that some illnesses could have partially natural causes, such as overexposure to cold weather, they also believed that all illnesses were ultimately the result of some offense or sin against various gods, demons, or ghosts. Thus, many illnesses were referred to as being "in the hand” of a particular god (Mark). In order to recover, a patient needed to follow a specific procedure, often involving a confession of and reparation for sin, to appease the incensed deity. To account for cases in which healing was unsuccessful, the Mesopotamians speculated that the gods could essentially do as they pleased — including refusing to heal a sick individual. …show more content…

The first type, the Asipu, relied on spirituality and magic for healing. They helped to determine which god, demon, or ghost was causing a particular illness and used magic, such as exorcisms, charms, or spells to treat the ailment. The other type of healer, the Asu, was similar to a primary care doctor. Instead of utilizing spiritual practices, the Asu used empirical reasoning and herbal medicine to treat the sick directly. Regardless of the type of healer, most medicine was practiced in the home, but special cases could demand going to a river or the Temple of Gula, the canine healing goddess, for treatment. Thus, while medicine was partially dependent on spirituality, it also combined with Mesopotamian scientific knowledge to establish a system of

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