As we understand it, medicine is the science, study, and practice of preserving patient health through surgery, treatments, and various forms of therapy. In recent decades, we’ve seen the incredible and impactful role medicine plays in all our lives. But what we don’t recognize as readily is the history and evolution of this crucial sect of science.
Surprisingly, human beings have been practicing medicine for almost as long as we’ve been on Earth. But it wasn’t always so advanced as it is now. Still, the medical work of our ancestors paved the way for the impressive vaccines, surgeries, and treatments we benefit from today. Join us on this brief journey through the history of medicine to learn more about its evolution.
Early Medicine and Folklore
The earliest semblance of medical practice reaches far back to humankind’s infancy. But it wasn’t anything like what we experience when we go in for our yearly check-ups. Instead, our ancestors practiced what we now refer to as folk medicine.
Folk medicine was essentially the idea that ailments like constipation, high blood pressure, and common colds were normality to be endured rather than treated. And in most instances, people would—through trial and error—use various herbal remedies to achieve relief.
More severe illnesses were tethered to supernatural folklore. Thus, if you were a 6th-century woman with smallpox, an angry god or witch was deduced as the cause of your illness. As you can imagine, the treatments for these ailments were primitive and ineffective.
Medieval Medicines
Luckily, as centuries passed, humans became increasingly eager to learn about themselves and their world. This brought about revolutionary medical eras, which birthed new and exciting developments for the scientific vocation. Medieval Europe witnessed the establishment of its first official medical school in Salerno, Italy.
While no incredible discoveries were made at the school, it was the first of its kind and laid the groundwork for renowned medical schools established years later in France and other European countries. As medical education became more commonplace, physicians began organizing more effective procedures to diagnose patients.
As a result, Medieval physicians had the means to:
- Analyze symptoms
- Examine excreta
- Effectively diagnose illness
This meant that they also had the means to provide more effective treatments for patients. Depending on the sickness, these doctors would prescribe everything from rest and exercise to baths and the administration of purgatives or emetics to remove impurity by bleeding the patient. Meanwhile, surgery and other early forms of major medical procedures were perfected in the East.
The Foundation for Modern Medicine
Physicians became increasingly proficient at diagnosing and treating patients. Not every prescription was effective. But at the very least, people were finally able to achieve real relief from their symptoms. And, of course, medicine only became sharper and more advanced as the years went on.
As the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries came, medical science began moving forward rapidly. There was more emphasis on the connection between human anatomy, the natural sciences, and how the two could converge to create even better medical treatments.
Moreover, the medical discoveries made in these centuries were legion. Diseases finally had names and places in official medical catalogs. Surgeries and childbirth were successfully performed more often. And eventually, the importance of medical lighting and state-of-the-art equipment was recognized and put into practice.
The history of medicine is fascinating and vast. And our ancestors may not have had everything figured out, but they did lay the groundwork for modern medicine and its incredible advancements.
