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What other practices did they use? They also used 3 practices that are no longer common in medicine. Geophagy
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This practice means eating substances like soil. Animals have done this for hundreds14 of thousands of years. Prehistoric people probably had their first medicinal experience through eating soil. They probably took their example from animals, when they saw how some soils had healing qualities, when animals ate them. In the Western part of the world geophagy is connected with an eating disorder called pica. Also, some soils are useful for treating wounds. People from all around the world still use soil externally and internally15 to heal wounds. Trepanation16 This practice treats health problems by making a hole into the skull. People have been doing that since Neolithic17 times to try to cure diseases or free the person of bad spirits. Anthropologists believe that prehistoric people used trepanation to heal patients with mental disorders, migraines and epileptic seizures18. Then they gave the piece of bone to the person as a good luck charm19. Shaman A shaman, whom they also called a medicine man, was in charge of the tribe’s health. Shamans used plant medicines, did primitive surgery, cast spells20 and charms. The health issues in prehistoric times were different from those that we deal with today, but many of diseases and conditions have remained common till now, for example arthritis21 and back problems. Also herbs still play an important role in herbal medicine.
13 Geophagy Geofágie 14 Hundreds – stovky 15 Externally/internally – zevně/vnitřně 16 Trepanation – trepanace 17 Neolithic – neolit 18 Epileptic seizures – epileptických záchvatů 19 talisman 20 cast a spell – zaklínat, očarovat 21 Arthritis – artritida
about medicine through the ages
Take a quiz 3: 1. What is Geophagy? a) This practice means eating animals. b) This practice means eating lots of plants. c) This practice means eating only plants. d) This practice means eating substances like soil. 2. What eating disorder is geophagy connected with in the Western part of the world? a) Sica b) Pica c) Mika d) Sicca 3. What is trepanation? a) It is a primitive knee surgery. b) It is a way to cure disease and free the person of bad spirits by making a hole into the chest. c) It is a way to cure migraines and other health problems by making a hole into the skull. d) It is a religious ceremony, where they gave a sick person a piece of animal bone as a good luck charm. 4. Why did they give a piece of bone to the person after trepanation? a) For good luck b) To remember the procedure c) To cover the hole in their head when necessary d) For religious reasons 5. Who was a shaman? a) A medicine man who was in charge of the tribe’s health. b) A certified surgeon c) A medicine man or a chemist who was in charge of the tribe’s health. d) A doctor who took the Hippocratic oath.
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view of illness and a first step toward a new idea that illness is connected to the environment92 and what is going on inside the body. Hippocrates came up with other things as well, including: • Hippocratic fingers Hippocrates, and those from his school of medicine, were the first people to describe and document several diseases and disorders. One of them was a detailed description of clubbing93 of the fingers. Clubbing of the fingers is a sign of lung or heart disease, and lung cancer. Even today, some doctors say “Hippocratic fingers” for clubbed fingers. • The Hippocratic face Hippocratic face describes a face not long before death. If a person has a sharp94 nose, sunken eyes and temples, hard, stretched and dry facial skin etc., the doctor might suspect that they are close to passing away. • Medical words Hippocrates and his students were the first to use many medical words, for example acute and chronic or relapse. However Hippocrates wasn’t the only one who brought a lot to the medical practice and research. Take a quiz 12: 1. Who was Hippocrates? a) A physician-priest in the Asclepion at Kos b) The father of medicine c) A man who took the Hippocratic oath d) A physician who didn’t believe in the ethical and honest practice of medicine 2. What is the Hippocratic oath? a) A collection of 60 medical documents written by Hippocrates b) An oath Hippocrates took before his father allowed him to practice medicine 92 Environment – prostředí 93 Clubbing – paličkovatění 94 Sharp – ostrý
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c) An oath that doctors and other health professionals take before they can practice medicine d) A collection of 60 medical documents written by the father of Hippocrates 3. Hippocrates used the concept of the four humours. What were they? a) White bile, black bile, blood and phlegm b) Yellow bile, white bile, blood and urine c) Yellow bile, black bile, urine and phlegm d) Yellow bile, black bile, blood and phlegm 4. How many qualities was each humour connected with? a) One b) Two c) Three d) Four 5. What humour does the melancholic disposition connect with according to the theory? a) Black bile b) Yellow bile c) Blood d) Phlegm 6. What humour does the choleric disposition connect with according to the theory? a) Black bile b) Blood c) Yellow bile d) Phlegm 7. What is the Hippocratic face? a) A healthy face b) The face of a new born baby c) A face not long before death d) The face of a person during the surgery 31
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about medicine through the ages
His other discoveries were some suggestions for infant care and, because of his belief that bad water was responsible for many illnesses, he included guidelines on how to check the water.
books was information about medicinal herbs, aromas and inorganic143 medicines. The history of medicine saw the first divide between medicine and pharmacology as separate sciences.
Take a quiz 25:
Take a quiz 26:
1. Who was Avicenna? a) A Persian who believed that doctors could make many diagnoses by checking the pulse and the urine. b) A Persian who became the director of the hospital in Baghdad. c) A Roman physician who went with Marcus Aurelius to Germany. d) A Roman who went to Baghdad to teach Roman medicine. 2. What’s the publication he wrote as a detailed guide for diagnosis and treatment? a) The Canon b) The Cranon c) The Cranone d) The Canone 3. Which following statement about Avicenna is not correct? a) He had many skills and professions. b) He believed that bad water was responsible for many illnesses. c) He wrote about 50 books and articles. d) He believed that doctors could make many diagnoses by checking the pulse and the urine.
Al Kindi He was the documenter of Islamic medicine. Galen’s works influenced this scholar and he also brought a lot of his own to the field. In his Agrabadhin he described many drugs from plants, animal and mineral sources. To the drugs known to physicians such as Hippocrates and Galen, he added knowledge he got from India, Persia and Egypt. Like many Islamic works, in his 54
1. Which statement about Al Kindi is not correct? a) He wrote books with information about medicinal herbs, aromas and inorganic medicines. b) He was the documenter of Islamic medicine. c) He was the first scholar to understand the respiro-circulatory system. d) Galen’s works influenced him. 2. Whose works influenced Al Kindi? a) Avicenna’s b) Galen’s c) Al-Razi’s d) Scribonius Largus’s 3. Where did he describe many drugs from plants, animals and minerals? a) In Agrabadhin b) In Agrabundin c) In Al Kindi d) In Al Agraba
Ibn Al Nafis Ibn Al-Nafis goes down in the history of medicine as the first scholar to understand the respiro-circulatory system, although his knowledge wasn’t complete. He understood that the heart had two parts and he said that there were no pores connecting the two part of the heart, so Galen was wrong. Al-Nafis said that the blood could only travel from one side of the heart to the other by passing through the lungs. 143 Inorganic – neorganický
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