Early Medical Techniques – History of From the beginning
humans sought ways to heal themselves. From prehistory to current day we are still in search of cures using old and new methods. Early healers were often referred to as magicians, medicine men, or shamans.
The ancient Egyptians had a system of that was very advanced for its time and influenced later traditions. The Egyptians and Babylonians both introduced the concepts of diagnosis, prognosis, and medical examination. They provided modern historians with a great deal of knowledge and evidence about their attitude towards and the knowledge that they had. This evidence has come from the numerous papyruses found in archaeological searches. Like prehistoric man, some of the beliefs of the Egyptians were based on myths and legend. However, their knowledge was also based on an increasing knowledge of the human anatomy and plain commonsense. Healers became known as physicians or doctors.
The Ancient Romans, like the Ancient Greeks and Ancient Egyptians, made a huge input into medicine and health, though their input was mainly concerned with public health schemes. Though the Roman discoveries may not have been in the field of pure medicine, poor hygiene by people was a constant source of disease, so any improvement in public health was to have a major impact on society.
The Romans learned a great deal from the Ancient Greeks. They first came into contact with the Greeks in about 500 BC By 146 B.C. part of Greece had become a province of the Roman Empire and by 27 B.C., the Romans were in control not only of Greece but of Greek-speaking lands around the Mediterranean. They used the ideas of the Greeks but they did not simply copy them. Greek ideas they found impractical they ignored and it seems that the Romans were more keen on things that would lead to the direct improvement of the quality of life of the people in their huge empire.
The Greeks went even further, and advanced as well medical ethics. The Greeks practiced medicine 1000 years before the birth of Christ. In the ÔIliadÕ by Homer, injured soldiers were treated by doctors and the Greek leader in the tale, Menelaus, was treated for an arrow wound by a doctor-in-arms, Machaon. The Hippocratic Oath, still taken by doctors up to today, was written in Greece in the 5th century BCE. In the medieval era, surgical practices inherited from the ancient masters were improved and then systematized in Rogerius’ The Practice of Surgery.
Early Medical Techniques – History of Universities began systematic training of physicians around the years 1220 in Italy. During the Renaissance, understanding of anatomy improved, and the microscope was invented.
The germ theory of disease in the 19th century led to cures for many infectious diseases. Military doctors advanced the methods of trauma treatment and surgery. 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, often connected with major hospitals.
The mid-20th century was characterized by new biological treatments, such as antibiotics. These advancements, along with developments in chemistry, genetics, and lab technology (such as the x-ray) led to modern medicine. Medicine was heavily professionalized in the 20th century, and new careers opened to women as nurses (from the 1870s) and as physicians (especially after 1970).
The 21st century is characterized by very advanced research involving numerous fields of science.
