Transcript History of Medicine - U. of M. WWW server

History of Medicine
Medicine Before the
Greeks
A Brief History of Medicine:
Doc, I Have an Earache
2000 BCE: Here, eat this root
1000 BCE: That root is heathen, say this prayer
1850 CE: Prayer is superstition, drink this potion
1930 CE: That potion is snake oil, swallow this pill
1970 CE: That pill is ineffective, take this antibiotic
2000 CE: That antibiotic is artificial, eat this root
Course Themes
 Medical
 How
history of humanity
medical history has changed
 History
of health professions
 Interconnections
and society
between medicine
Prehistoric Evidence of Disease
States
 Primarily
skeletal
 Interpretation of findings must be
done with care
Degenerative Changes

Osteoarthritis
Developmental Deformities

Clubfoot
Developmental Deformities

Dwarfism
Infections

Leprosy
Infections

Syphilis
Neoplasms

Bone Cancer
Injuries

Skull fracture
Deficiency Diseases

Rickets
Surgery

Trephination
Transition to Agricultural
Lifestyle
 Transformation
in human medical
history
 Increased risk of infections
– Crowding
– Increased exposure to animals
– Increased production of waste
– Attraction for rodents, insects
New Infectious Diseases
 Tuberculosis
 Measles
 Common
cold
 Polio
 Salmonella
Rise of Cities
 Increased
crowding
 Advent of crowd diseases
 Importation of disease along trade
routes
Increased Social Stratification
 Scribes
and officials
 Healers
 Differential
impacts on health related
to socio-economic status
Evidence About Human Health
from Artifacts
 Written
documents
– Papyri (Egypt)
– Clay tablets (Mesopotamia)
Mummies

Smallpox identified
in the mummy of
Ramses II
Statues

Tuberculosis
depicted in a
statuette
Carvings

Depiction of an
individual who had
contracted ? Polio
in a relief carving
Carvings

Circumcision
depicted in relief
carving
Early Greek Medicine
Homer
 Asclepius
 Rise of temples
devoted to health

General Insights into Medicine
in the Ancient World
 Well
developed skills
 Not based on theory as we
understand it
 Seamless integration of medicine,
magic, & religion
 Transmission of knowledge between
generations of practitioners
What’s Missing?