How Medicine Evolved
Introduction
Medicine is a subject that deals with ways of restoring the health of a living thing (Zimmer, 2004). The many procedures of restoring health all have the goal of identifying and curing of the disease in the living thing. Modern medicine uses latest medical technology and research in diagnosing and treating diseases. This is a major change from the past as nowadays illness identification processes are more accurate. Incurable and killer diseases, such as cancer and AIDS, are now manageable with the life expectancy extended unlike in the past.
Evolution of Medicine
The ancient form of medicine and medical practices in the early society was the use of natural resources. These included herbs, bits of animal parts, and minerals. In most societies, the medicine practiced involved magic, religious rituals, and herbs to heal diseases. The practice of medicine evolved slowly in many countries of the early world such as Greece, Babylonia, India, and Egypt. For example, great skill used in carrying out brain surgery in the ancient time and excavations made have proved that many people survived in those times (Zimmer, 2004, p. 22).
In the 14th and 15th centuries, there came the Black Plague. This disease caused a major change in medical thinking as people started doubting the use of traditional forms of healing. The doubt resulted in new ways of practicing medicine in some European countries such as Germany; America; and the U.K. In Greece, a physician referred to as Hippocrates was the first in changing ancient medicine practices for a reasonable way of practicing medicine. He was the first to classify diseases into categories like acute, chronic, epidemic, and endemic. According to Peter (2004) he became the “father of medicine” making a Hippocratic Oath that medical doctors have to make to this date (p. 901). Another physician in ancient Greece was Galen. He was a great brain and eye surgeon of his time. Many people believed that those who lived in the past were right and anyone who did not act in the same way should die. Some of the beliefs in the past society were false and physicians either improved the right ones or rejected the false ones. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek founded microbiology by using the microscope to observe microorganisms and bacteria. At the same time William Harvey explained the circulatory system in humans. In the 17th century, a French doctor called Pierre Fauchard started dentistry, as referred to today.
Modern science and research have replaced the early traditional way of healing. In modern science, there is diagnosing and testing of ailments to determine the actual disease (Clifford, 2002, p.1434). The modern period started in the late 18th century with the discovery of the smallpox vaccine by Edward Jenner. In the same period, there was also the discovery of antibiotics and scientists started to understand how bacteria were transmitted from one person to another.
In the modern world, there is evidence-based medicine which is practical identification of an illness. Evidence-based medicine is also a recent development that involves finding out the most effective ways of treating diseases. It uses proven scientific methods and information from the internet to get evidence on treating a disease.
Conclusion
Through the advancement of science and technology, more researchers are now able to identify and treat diseases. The same diseases that had no cure in the past are now manageable. Surgery nowadays is painless with anesthesia and the risk of a patient dying from shock and pain is minimized. In addition, it is now more efficient to treat infections with the current use of antibiotics. In the ancient days, treating illnesses was hard because of the high rate of re-infection. Again, with modern clinical medicine there is more personal interaction between patient and physician. This is where the doctor examines each patient at a time, to discover and treat the patient’s illness. This is a key breakthrough in medicine.
References
Culliford, L., (December 2002). Spirituality and Clinical Care (Editorial). British Medical
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Nesse R., (2010). Science-based Medicine. Available at http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/evolution-in-medicine/
Peter, C., (December 2004). Medicinal properties of body parts. The Pharmaceutical Journal,
273 (7330), 900-902.
Zimmer, C., (2004). Soul Made Flesh: The Discovery of the Brain and How it Changed the
World. New York: Free Press.
