A Brief History Of Medicine

Part 3

The Middle Ages

People have had illness.People have tried to explain the cause of

disease.Humans have sought cures for

sicknesses.

Throughout History

Traditional Chinese Medicine

Time Period

500 BC to 1600 AD Many medical

practices are still used today

Common Diseases

Records show symptoms and treatments for many diseases

Huge area, many climates

Causes of Disease - Beliefs

The body is a like small universeA complex of subsystems of energy and

matterThese systems work together to

maintain a healthy mind and bodyThe characteristics of the operation of

the mind/body are described in terms of the five elements (metal, water, wood, fire, and earth)

Causes of Disease

Yin/Yang organs, deficiency/excess, emptiness/fullness, hot/cold, wind, dampness, essences, body fluids, vessels and more.

Illness is caused by external and/or internal factors which disrupt the body's natural processes

Cures & Medical Techniques

Taking pulse in six positions Observations of patient's

tongue, voice, hair, face, posture, gait, eyes, ears, vein on index finger of small children

Checking the patient's body (especially the abdomen, chest, back, and lumbar areas) for tenderness

Comparing the warmth or coolness of different parts of the body

Cures & Medical Techniques

Observation of the patient's various odors

Asking the patient about the effects of their problem.

Anything else that can be observed without instruments and without harming the patient

Cures & Medical Techniques

Asking detailed questions about their family, living environment, personal habits, food diet, emotions, sleep, exercise, and anything that may give insight into the balance or imbalance of an individual.

Cures & Medicine

Herbal medicine Acupuncture Dietary therapy Specialized

massage

http://www.abpischools.org.uk/res/coResourceImport/resources04/history/index-2.cfm

Major Accomplishments

In 56 BC, Zhang Liang invented an instrument named "Meng" which is considered to be precursor of modern stethoscope

Major Accomplishments

Medical records from 3000 BC The most important book

compiled between 300 B.C. and A.D. 400 is The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic (Huang Di Nei Jing).

The work is a series of conversations between the Yellow Emperor, Huang Di, and his minister, Qi Bo

Many historians believe it is a compilation of all the medical knowledge of that period.

Knowledge Traveled Slowly

Europe would not learn about Chinese medicine until Marco Polo visited there (around 1300 AD)

Arabic Medicine

Time Period

The Arab world Spain was western

border India was eastern

border 800 AD to 1500 AD Learned from both

India and ancient Greece

Importance

From the fall of Rome until the European Renaissance of the 15th century, the Islamic world was the center of medical knowledge. 

Greek medical texts were translated into Arabic and added to.

Arabic doctors saved much of the knowledge gained by Greeks & Romans.

Major Accomplishments

The Arabs were influenced by, and further developed Greek, Roman and Indian medical practices.

Galen, Hippocrates, Sushruta and Charaka were pre-eminent authorities

The translation of 129 works of ancient Greek physician Galen into Arabic by Hunayn ibn Ishaq were very important

Major Accomplishments

Doctors studied anatomy, ophthalmology, pharmacology, pharmacy, physiology, surgery, and the pharmaceutical sciences.

Physicians set up some of the earliest dedicated hospitals, which later spread to Europe during the Crusades, inspired by the hospitals in the Middle East

Hospitals Developed

Large hospitals to treat the sick

Cairo’s hospital treated 8000 at once

High standard of care for all patients rich or poor

Arabic doctors were considered the best in the world at the time

Major Discoveries

Use of alcohol to clean wounds

Discovered first disease-causing parasite

Used plaster for casts Used catgut for internal

stitches Early form of

anesthetics used

http://library.thinkquest.org/15569/hist-5.html

Inventions

Surgical needle (used for removal of cataracts)

Method to test safety of medicines

Injection syringe Inoculation

Early form of vaccination

Major Accomplishments

Al-Razi, or Rhazes (865 - 924) was a Persian physician, chemist and alchemist. 

Wrote a vast medical encyclopedia called Continens

Wrote first book describing measles and smallpox

Explained that fever was the body’s way to fight illness.

Major Accomplishments

Hakim Ibn Sina (also called Avicenna)

Arab doctor born 980 AD Wrote over 100 books Most famous is an

encyclopedia of diseases The Canon of Medicine

Gave causes, symptoms, & treatments

Would be major medical textbook for 500 years

Ibn Sina or Avicenna

The Canon of MedicineSet of 5 volumesGave causes, symptoms, medicines &

treatmentsWould be major medical textbook for 500

yearsTranslated into Latin in 1100’s

Ibn Sina or Avicenna

Ibn Sina became so famous as a doctor that the emir (the prince) came to him when he was sick.

When Ibn Sina cured the emir's sickness, the emir gave him a job as his personal doctor - Ibn Sina was still only 18 years old.

As the emir's doctor, Ibn Sina got to read many rare books in the emir's library.

Medieval Medicine in Europe

Time Period – the Dark Ages

Europe 476 AD to 800 AD Period of frequent wars Catholic Church provided

some stability Very little advancement in

learning of any kind Few large cities Very few people ever left the

town they were born in.

Folk Medicine

Mainly based on superstitionHere are some British cures from 1100 AD:Toothache cure: chew peppercornsSnake bite cure: use a salve made of

earwax & ask the priest to pray over youBreathing problems cure: chop up the liver

and lungs of a fox, add to wine, drink it regularly from a church bell

Middle Ages

After 800 AD to 1400 AD

Holy Roman Empire and beginning of modern nations

Middle Ages – the Crusades

Crusades 1095 to 1291 ADSeries of wars between

Christians and Muslims over control of the Holy Land

Crusades put western Europe in contact with many new ideas.

Sources of Information

Medicine in medieval times combined superstition, tradition, plant-lore and knowledge passed down from the ancient Greeks and Romans.

Many ideas about causes & cures of disease

Causes of Disease

Spiritual Causes Catholic Church

taught that sickness was a result of sinful behavior

Cure was therefore prayer and greater holiness

Causes of Disease

Humours Doctors followed

Greek ideas of the 4 humours

Used bleeding and purging to rid the body of “bad humours”

Causes of Disease

Miasma – “bad air” Some believed that being

exposed to bad air would cause disease

Cure is burning fires to burn off bad vapors

Prevention by carrying good smells with you Flowers Garlic around neck Pomanders/spice balls

Cause of Disease

The human body and the planets were made up of the same four elements (earth, fire, air and water).

For good health all four elements had to be in harmony with no imbalances.

The Moon could affect the four elements in your body – for good or bad

Knowledge of Zodiac – Important for deciding how to treat patient Doctors used Zodiac Chart to design

Cures & Medicine

Herbal remedies Books about herbs

were written Red Book of

Hergest, c.1400 was most famous

Major Accomplishments

Building of Hospitals Most major cities Monasteries

Monks provided care

Medical basis Herbal remedies Spiritual basis

Medical Education

Arabic & Greek medical texts were translated into Latin

Medical education schools used these Arabic and Greek books

The Black Death

Plague struck Europe 1348

Came from China via the Middle East

Spread along trade routes from Italy in every direction

The Black Death - Cause

Many thought that the plague was God’s punishment for evil

Many blamed the Jews Jews in some

towns were killed or driven out

The Black Death – Actual Cause

Bubonic plague Germ is called

Yersinia pestis Carried by fleas who

lived on rats Infected fleas would

bite humans and transmit germ

The Black Death

Plague was worse in big cities

People lived close together

Sanitation was very poorRats were common

Symptoms

The disease attacked lymph, respiratory and/or circulatory systems and there was nearly a 100% death rate for those infected.

Buboes (like tumors) covered the body -- some of them as big as an egg or apple. Mainly in armpits Neck & Groin areas Swollen and oozing pus

Symptoms

Purplish splotches also covered the body.

High fever Vomiting Delirium Might cough up blood Bad breath and body

odors indicated they were rotting from the inside.

The Black Death - Cures

Doctors had no idea how to cure itWore masks to

prevent infectionNothing seemed to

workPeople died within 2

to 7 days

Attempts at Prevention or Cure

Superstitious remedies Prayer Herbal medicines Recipes for clearing the

air of miasma or poison Bonfires Carrying posies

(flowers)

Ring Around the Rosie

"Ring around the rosie, (marks on body)

A pocketful of posie, (flowers to cover the smell)

Ashes, Ashes, (words from funeral ceremony)

All fall down." (die)

The Black Death - Results

Killed 75-200 million people in Europe – about 40% to 50% of population

Disrupted all aspects of life:ChurchGovernmentTradeFarming

Plague Returns

Disease hit somewhere every 5 to 6 years from 1350 to 1490

Plague of London 1665 was one of last major epidemics

Plague Returns

Europe’s last major epidemic 1720 in Marseilles, France

Still exists in animal populations in many areas of the world

Antibiotics can kill the bacteria if given early