History
of Medicine
Our
understanding of prehistoric medical practice is from the
study of ancient pictographs that show medical procedures,
as well as the surgical tools uncovered from anthropological
sites of ancient societies.
Serious diseases were of primary interest to early humans,
although they were not able to treat them effectively. Many
diseases were attributed to the influence of malevolent demons
who were believed to project an alien spirit, a stone, or
a worm into the body of the unsuspecting patient. These diseases
were warded off by incantations, dancing, magic charms and
talismans, and various other measures. If the demon managed
to enter the body of its victim, either in the absence of
such precautions or despite them, efforts were made to make
the body uninhabitable to the demon by beating, torturing,
and starving the patient. The alien spirit could also be expelled
by potions that caused violent vomiting, or could be driven
out through a hole cut in the skull. This procedure, called
trepanning, was also a remedy for insanity, epilepsy, and
headache.
Surgical
procedures practiced in ancient societies included cleaning
and treating wounds by cautery (burning or searing tissue),
poultices, and sutures, resetting dislocations and fractures,
and using splints to support or immobilize broken bones. Additional
therapy included laxatives and enemas to treat constipation
and other digestive ills. Perhaps the greatest success was
achieved by the discovery of the narcotic and stimulating
properties of certain plant extracts. So successful were these
that many continue to be used today, including digitalis,
a heart stimulant extracted from foxglove.
Several
systems of medicine, based primarily on magic, folk remedies,
and elementary surgery, existed in various diverse societies
before the coming of the more advanced Greek medicine about
the 6th century bc.
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