History
of Medicine /world medicine books
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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