History of Medicine

HISTORY OF MEDICINE
Key Characteristics of Prehistoric Medicine:

Use of Natural Resources: Healers primarily used
herbs, plants, and animal parts, relying on the
natural environment for remedies.
Spiritual Beliefs: Health and illness were often
viewed in the context of supernatural forces or
spirits.
Rituals and Shamanism: Rituals and shamanistic
practices played a significant role, with shamans
or medicine men/women acting as healers.
Early Surgical Practices: Evidence of trepanation
(drilling holes into the skull) suggests an early
form of surgery, possibly for spiritual or
therapeutic reasons.
Oral Traditions: Knowledge was passed down
orally, making it challenging to pinpoint specific
practices and beliefs.
Trepanning – which comes from the Greek word 'trypanon', meaning a device for boring holes – is the oldest-
known surgical procedure, and possibly one of the most grim.
Trepanning is a process whereby a hole is drilled in the skull o relieve pressure on the skull after an injury
– but it could have also been used to give a trapped demon a hole to escape. This act was actually believed
to be a medical treatment and perhaps even a cure for ailments like epilepsy or “possession by evil spirits
In ancient times, trepanation was an agonizing affair. The

medical practitioner would use a tool made of material like
flint, obsidian, or stone to drill or scrape into the patient’s head
until they made it through the skull and exposed the dura
mater, or the membrane surrounding the brain, to the open air.
The Greeks and Romans were among the first groups to

create tools specifically for trepanation, including the
terebra serrata, which pierced through the skull as the
surgeon rolled the instrument between their hands.
Interestingly enough, the terebra serrata would later help
inspire modern neurosurgery tools like the manual burr
hole and electric drill.
An image showing different methods of trepanation: (1) scraping, (2) grooving, (3) boring and cutting, (4)
rectangular intersecting cuts
EARLY WOUND CARE
immersing themselves in cool

water and applying mud to irritated
areas
sucking stings
licking wounds
exerting pressure on wounds to
stop the bleeding.
DISEASES WERE CAUSED BY GODS AND SPIRITS
Magic and religion played an important role in medicine well into the nineteenth century
CUPPING
MESOPOTAMIANS
HEPATOSCOPY - detailed examination of the liver

DISEASE-MARK OF SIN
GODS OF EGYPT
associated with
health, illness, and
death
GODDESS OF HEALING
mistress of heaven and
the protector of
women during
childbirth
Keket
- ensured fertility
PREVALENT DISEASES:
intestinal ailments
Malaria
trachoma
night blindness
Cataracts
arteriosclerosis
epidemic diseases
ANCIENT
INDIA
BRAHMA - VISHNU - SHIVA
ANCIENT CHINESE MEDICINE
According to Nei Ching, five methods of treatment
were available: 1. cure the spirit 2. nourish the body
3. give medications 4. treat the whole body 5. use
acupuncture and moxibustion, which is a treatment
similar to acupuncture in which a powdered plant is
burned on the skin
NEI-CHING- Canon of Internal Medicine, is probably the oldest

known medical book. It is a combination of philosophy, medicine,
and religion, and its influence on Chinese medicine spanned more
than 2,000 years.
For reasons of modesty, women in
ancient China used figurines to indicate
the location of their symptoms
SMALLPOX
ANCIENT GREEK MEDICINE
RUINS OF THE HEALING TEMPLE OF ASCLEPSIOS
Tholos- encircled a pool
or sacred spring of water
for purification
Abaton-a building considered to
be an incubation site, where the
cure took place
The temples usually consisted of a theater, a stadium, a gymnasium, inns, and
temporary housing
PRE
HIPPOCRATIC
MEDICINE
Pythagoras, Empedocles, and Democritus approached harmony with
the universe in an objective, scientific manner
Hippocrates
- father of medicine
1. observe all
2. study the patient rather than the
disease
3. evaluate honestly
4. assist nature
CHRISTIANITY AND MEDICINE
HEALING MESSAGE
OF CHRIST
ST LUKE THE PHYSICIAN
emphasis on compassion, forgiveness,

and concern for the unfortunate and the
dispossessed
BUBONIC PLAGUE
Bubonic plague is the most
common form of plague. This
occurs when an infected flea bites
a person or when materials
contaminated with Y. pestis enter
through a break in a person's skin.
Patients develop swollen, tender
lymph glands (called buboes) and
fever, headache, chills, and
weakness.
RENAISSANCE
PERIOD
Paracelsus: The Alchemist Journey From Medicine
to Magic
Jean Fernel
physiology, pathology, and
therapeutics were the standard
disciplines of medicine
Ambroise Paré
forerunner in
clinical surgery
Andreas Versalius
-Father of Anatomy
Latrochemistry
combination of alchemy,
medicine, and chemistry,
Jan Baptista van Helmont
William Harvey
Christian Huygens
-developed the centigrade
system of measuring
temperature
Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit
-developed the system
named after him for
measuring temperature
Marcello Malpighi
Anton van Leeuwenhoek

single-lens microscope was
designed in the 17th century
by van Leeuwenhoek
Leonardo da Vinci
Albrecht von Haller
in-depth studies of
the nervous system
discovered the
relationship of the
brain cortex to
peripheral nerves
founder of modern
physiologic theory
Lazzaro Spallanzani
discarded the theory of
spontaneous generation and became
a pioneer in experimental
fertilization
Stephen Hales
demonstrated the dynamics of blood
circulation, stressed the importance
of the capillary system
the first person to record blood

pressure with a manometer.
Giovanni Battista Morgagni
correlated anatomy with pathology His

research and writings laid the foundation
for much of modern pathology
father of pathology
Edward Jenner
-formulated the smallpox vaccination
William Hunter
a specialist in
obstetrics
founded the Great

Windmill Street
School of Anatomy
the first medical

school in London
John Hunter
An experimental surgeon
developed a method of closing off

aneurysms
Phillippe Pinel
a more humane regimen be instilled at Asylum de Bicêtre near Paris
CARL ROKITANSKY
most outstanding morphologic
pathologist of his time
Rudolf Virchow
all cells come from other cells
Claude Bernard
founder of experimental physiology and discovered the principle
of homeostasis
pioneered and established the specialty of internal medicine
contributed to the pathologic
and clinical understanding of
chest diseases, including
emphysema, bronchiectasis,
and tuberculosis.
a pioneer in the invention

and use of the stethoscope.
RENÉ-THÉOPHILE HYACINTHE LAENNEC

Ephraim McDowell
performed the first

successful abdominal
operation to remove a
huge cyst from an ovary.
J. MARION SIMS
laid the foundation for gynecology and founded the Women’s Hospital of the
State of New York, the first institution of its kind
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Joseph Priestley- discovered nitrous oxide
gas
Humphry Davy suggested that it be used in

surgery, but he was ignored.
Crawford W. Long-used sulfuric ether

during surgery in 1842, he did not publicize
its use.
discovered that bacteria were often the origin of disease and
infection; thus safe surgical procedures were introduced to
minimize the risks of surgery
Pioneered sterile surgery using antiseptic method

LOUIS PASTEUR
discovered that the decay of food could be forestalled by

heating the food and destroying harmful bacteria
he formulated the germ theory of disease and explained

the effectiveness of asepsis and antisepsis
ROBERT KOCH
performed extensive research into

microorganisms and founded
bacteriology
BENJAMIN RUSH
the first American psychiatrist

THE TRANQUILIZING CHAIR OF DR. BENJAMIN RUSH
Benjamin Rush believed that mental diseases were

caused by irritation of the blood vessels in the brain. His
treatment methods included bleeding, purging, hot and
cold baths, and mercury, and he invented a tranquilizer
chair and a gyrator for psychiatric patients. He published
many medical papers and gave medical lectures to
physicians and students.
WILLIAM BEAUMONT
CLINICAL STUDIES OF THE HUMAN

GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT, BECAME
THE FIRST PROMINENT AMERICAN
PHYSIOLOGIST
first person to observe and study human

digestion as it occurs in the stomach.
GREGOR MENDEL
laid the foundation of modern genetics

WILHELM CONRAD
ROENTGEN
Pierre and Marie Curie discovered radium and provided
the foundation for the use of radioactivity in the
treatment of diseases.
Major Walter Reed led a US Army board in
discovering the cause of yellow fever
Paul Ehrlich
father of chemotherapy
Abel, Rowntree, and Turner invented the first artificial kidney, and this led to
kidney dialysis
Willem Einthoven made the first electrocardiogram
Hans Burger invented the
electroencephalogram
Lind, Eijkman, Hopkins,
Szent-Gyorgyi, and
Funk defined and
isolated vitamins and
described their role in
the life process.
SALK VACCINE
Watson and Crick won a
Nobel Prize in 1962 for
accurately describing the
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
molecule as a double helix
and identifying its
components.
entire DNA code has
now been
deciphered, and this
has opened a new
era in the treatment
and prevention of
disease.
The prevention and treatment of human
immunodeficiency viral (HIV) infection and
acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)
have increased
health “a state of complete physical, mental, and social
well-being, and not merely the absence of DISEASE or
infirmity.”
DISEASE – PATTERN OF RESPONSE OF A LIVING ORGANISM

TO SOME FORM OF INJURY
mortality -death rate

Morbidity-occurrence of disease or
conditions

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HISTORY OF MEDICINE

Key Characteristics of Prehistoric Medicine:

In ancient times, trepanation was an agonizing affair. The

The Greeks and Romans were among the first groups to

immersing themselves in cool

HEPATOSCOPY - detailed examination of the liver

NEI-CHING- Canon of Internal Medicine, is probably the oldest

emphasis on compassion, forgiveness,

Anton van Leeuwenhoek

the first person to record blood

correlated anatomy with pathology His

founded the Great

the first medical

developed a method of closing off

a pioneer in the invention

RENÉ-THÉOPHILE HYACINTHE LAENNEC

performed the first

Humphry Davy suggested that it be used in

Crawford W. Long-used sulfuric ether

Pioneered sterile surgery using antiseptic method

discovered that the decay of food could be forestalled by

he formulated the germ theory of disease and explained

performed extensive research into

the first American psychiatrist

Benjamin Rush believed that mental diseases were

CLINICAL STUDIES OF THE HUMAN

first person to observe and study human

laid the foundation of modern genetics

DISEASE – PATTERN OF RESPONSE OF A LIVING ORGANISM

mortality -death rate

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