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History
of Medicine :
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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