The History Of Medicine
is like a huge puzzle, and it has taken
many tortuous and gruesome routes to try to fit the pieces together. It
has gone from ancient myths that attempted to explain disease to the great
capabilities of today's medicine.
The first crude forms of medicine go back to prehistoric man. Even
before man appeared on earth, disease existed in the animals that roamed
here. Fossils, bones, and teeth can be used to see how prehistoric man
fell to disease. Imagine a sickly man, his body and mind wasted by
sleeping on the cold, muddy floor that he shared with other creatures. He
shortly died from lack of food, by traumas, fears, and stresses.
The first physician was man himself. His ...
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not only burns, but
cautery .
Civilization came to be around 12,000 BC. Diseases were treated if
minor with domestic remedies such as diet, herbs, plasters, and massage.
Often, if the case was severe, the patient was killed to relieve the
community of his burden, or the healer was summoned. Old shaman's
techniques were more based on myth and magic. Magic was man's first
attempt to understand nature. Defensive magic used fetishes (objects
endowed with magical powers), amulets (protective objects against black
magic), and talismans (good luck objects). The shaman based his diagnosis
on the concept that there was only one disease. The cause of this disease
came from the existence of fetishes, evil dreams, or broken taboos. Once
the direct cause was determined, it was treated by magic, sucking,
extraction rituals, massage, baths, or vegetable drugs; and possession by a
spirit, by exorcism, bloodletting, and spells.
Magic medicine can still be seen today in ...
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The History Of Medicine. (2005, April 7). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-History-Of-Medicine/24978
"The History Of Medicine." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 7 Apr. 2005. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-History-Of-Medicine/24978>
"The History Of Medicine." Essayworld.com. April 7, 2005. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-History-Of-Medicine/24978.
"The History Of Medicine." Essayworld.com. April 7, 2005. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-History-Of-Medicine/24978.
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