Download 2 Medicine in the countries of Ancient World

Lecture 2
Medicine of
the Ancient World
Lecture Plan
1.The Egyptian Medicine.
2.Medicine of the Peoples of
Mesopotamia. Babylon and Assyria.
3.Medicine in India.
4.Medicine in China.
5.Ancient Greek Medicine.
6.Medicine in Ancient Rome.
Stages in the
Development of Medicine
•Medicine of the Primitive Society
3,000,000 B.C. – 5,000 B.C.
•Medicine of the Ancient World
5,000 B.C. – 476 A.D.
•Medicine of the Middle Ages
476 – end of 17th century
•Renaissance Medicine
15th century
•Early Modern Medicine
•Medicine in the 20th Century
ANCIENT MEDICINE
TIMELINE
Egypt
5,000 B.C.
prehistoric
India
3,000 B.C.
China
4,000 B.C.
Mesopotamia
3,000 B.C.
medieval
Mesopotamian Medicine
establishment
of calendar
dawn of recorded
history
invention
of writing
Mesopotamian Medicine
Scanty evidence
•clay tablets bearing cuneiform signs and
seals used by physicians of ancient
Mesopotamia
•the Code of Hammurabi (Babylonian king of
the 18th century BC) inscribed on stone pillar,
containing laws relating to the practice of
medicine, and the penalties for failure
Mesopotamian Medicine
!notable!
every Babylonian was an amateur
physician,
since it was the custom to lay the
sick in the street so that anyone
passing by might offer advice
Mesopotamian Medicine
!notable!
divination, from the inspection of
the liver of a sacrificed animal,
was widely practiced to foretell
the course of a disease
Ancient Egyptian Medicine
 Impact
•
•
•
•
of Magic and Religion
Incantations
Magical ingredients
Selection of remedies or ingredients
(simila similibus principle)
Amulets
Ancient Egyptian Medicine
Amulets
homopoeic
theophoric
phylactic
Ancient Egyptian Medicine
Imhotep
•
The first physician to emerge in Egypt is Imhotep,
chief minister to King Djoser in the 3rd millennium
BC, who designed one of the earliest pyramids, the
Step Pyramid at Ṣaqqārah, and who was later
regarded as the Egyptian god of medicine and
identified with the Greek god Asclepius.
Ancient Egyptian Medicine
Sources of knowledge
•
•
•
study of Egyptian papyri
study of the artistic representation of disease in
the Nile Valley
study of human remains of ancient Egyptians
Ancient Egyptian Medicine
widespread practice of
embalming the dead body
scarce study of human
anatomy
Ancient Egyptian Medicine
Basic features
ranks of
doctors
specializations
in the doctors
medical institutions
Ancient Indian Medicine
Periods
Vedic medicine
until 800 BC
Golden age
800BC-1000AD
Ancient Indian Medicine
religion prohibited
cutting the dead body
knowledge of anatomy
was limited
Ancient Indian Medicine
Health of human
body
spirit
(air)
phlegm
bile
Ancient Indian Medicine
flesh
fat
blood
Human body
bone
semen
chile
marrow
Ancient Indian Medicine
Surgical operations performed by Hindu surgeons:
excision of tumours
 incision and draining of abscesses
punctures to release fluid in the abdomen
 extraction of foreign bodies
 repair of anal fistulas
 splinting of fractures
 amputations
 caesarean sections
 stitching of wounds


Ancient Indian Medicine
Outstanding operations
performed by Hindus
removal of bladder stones by
lateral lithotomy
Ancient Indian Medicine
Outstanding operations
performed by Hindus
PLASTIC SURGERY. Amputation of the
nose and repair by cutting a piece of
tissue from the patient's cheek or
forehead and applying it to the stump
of the nose
Ancient Chinese Medicine
dualistic cosmic
theory
yang, male
principle,
active, light,
heavens
yin, female
principle,
passive, dark,
earth
Ancient Chinese Medicine
wood
water
Human body
metal
earth
fire
Ancient Chinese Medicine
heart
kidneys
Organs of
human body
spleen
liver
lungs
Ancient Chinese Medicine
intestines
gallbladder
Viscera of
human body
stomach
bladder
Ancient Chinese Medicine
Basic features
Hydrotherapy
Acupuncture
Moxibustion
Ancient Greek Medicine
Asclepius

The divine Asclepius, the god of medicine, may
have originated in a human Asclepius who lived
about 1200 BC and is said to have performed
many miracles of healing.
Ancient Greek Medicine
Temple medicine
Diet
Bath
Exercises
Ancient Greek Medicine


In the 5th century BC Empedocles set forth the
view that the universe is composed of four
elements—fire, air, earth, and water; this
conception led to the doctrine of the four
bodily humours: blood; phlegm; choler, or
yellow bile; and melancholy, or black bile.
The maintenance of health was held to depend
upon the harmony of the four humours.
Ancient Greek Medicine

The equilibrium of the four humours:

black bile
yellow bile
(red) blood
(green) phlegm



Ancient Greek Medicine

Hippocrates:

Epilepsy “is not any more sacred than other
diseases, but has a natural cause, and its
supposed divine origin is due to man's
inexperience. Every disease has its own
nature, and arises from external causes.”
Ancient Greek Medicine
 Hippocratic
 an
oath
ethical code, an ideal, an
appeal for right conduct
Ancient Rome Medicine
good
hospitals
unrivalled
water supply
Basic
features
domestic
sanitation
adequate
disposal of
sewage
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