History of Medicine

With COVID-19 grabbing much of the world's attention in the last two years, all other diseases have taken a backseat, yet they remain no less dangerous. One such disease getting buried in the covid hysteria is cancer. The second leading cause of death in the United States, cancer is one of the most prevalent diseases of modern times. A chilling fact is that nearly one in three (33%) Americans will get cancer in their lifetime. The mortality rate is equally grim—an estimated 600,000 people died of cancer in 2020 in the United States alone, nearly double the number of deaths (~350,000 in 2020) attributed to the coronavirus! Purple ribbon symbol for cancer. While there's no doubt that the incidence of cancer has increased in recent times, it is by no means a modern disease. Cancer has existed since ancient, even pre-historic times! Paleontologists recently discovered cancer in dinosaur fossils from 70 million years ago. In humans, the earliest evidence of cancer was found in a

As medicine developed independently in all of the ancient civilizations, it is interesting to note the many similarities in beliefs and practices; however, there were also some important distinctions in all four of the major civilizations. Although I touched upon it in my previous post, I wanted to explore and highlight the similarities and differences among the four medical sciences in more detail. Cause of Disease Supernatural forces: Both Mesopotamian and Egyptian medicine believed that disease was caused by supernatural forces and not natural causes. Mesopotamians and Ancient Egyptians alike blamed various gods, demons and spirits for disease- each spirit was responsible for one disease. Although Mesopotamians knew that various organs in the body could malfunction and lead to disease, they attributed the malfunction to an evil spirit. Likewise, Egyptians believed spirits blocked channels in the body and caused its malfunction. Body Imbalance: Indian and Chinese medicine, on the o

Today's news about Pfizer's coronavirus vaccination brings hope for an end to the covid-19 pandemic. With an effective vaccine (90% effective as Pfizer has claimed for their vaccine is truly spectacular!), we can finally think about returning to life as before- normal school, yay! (never thought I would say that ever!), even though it will be months or years before a sufficiently large population can be given the vaccine. Nevertheless, it is exciting news for people, as well as for the scientific community that a new vaccine was developed in such an unprecedented short time. In honor of Pfizer's announcement today, I decided to update an older post about vaccines and their history.   A vaccine protects a person from becoming sick when exposed to the virus. How exactly does that happen? When a person gets infected by a virus (any type of virus in general), the white blood cells in their body produces antibodies to fight the virus which helps them recover, and these antibodi

So we know that the Rx symbol used in prescriptions originated in the ancient world, but how and when exactly did the process of writing prescriptions start? The concept of a doctor writing a prescription followed by a pharmacist filling it is a modern concept. In ancient times, the doctor would provide the medicine to the patient, and before doctors, it was the priests who made up concoctions by mixing different ingredients. But slowly the act of compounding medicines became a specialty, and the doctor's job was restricted to prescribing it and sending the patient to a compounder or pharmacist to get it made. Although the exact origin of this practice is murky, the practice of preparation and dispensation of drugs certainly existed for thousands of years, dating all the way back to the oldest of civilizations: the Sumerian and Egyptian civilizations. The world’s first recorded prescription is thought to be a clay tablet in Mesopotamia dated ~2500 BCE which lists 15 prescriptions

Have you ever wondered why medicines are denoted with an ℞ or Rx symbol? There are actually many theories about its origin but the most common one is that the symbol for prescriptions originated from the "Eye of Horus", which was an ancient Egyptian symbol associated with healing powers. According to Egyptian mythology, Horus lost his eye in battle but his mom used her powers to restore his eye, hence it became a symbol of healing.  Eye of Horus In the 2 nd century, Greek physician Galen adapted this symbol to impress his patients. Galen’s influence on medicine was so strong that even the symbol was borrowed through the centuries and it eventually evolved into the modern symbol Rx (the eye of Horus kinda looks like an Rx). Other theories place its origin in Latin and Roman times. One theory is that Rx was used as an abbreviation of the Latin word recipere , meaning “to prepare,” which physicians wrote on medical prescriptions. Yet another theory points to the similarity of

Following up on the history of essential oils seemed like a natural step, so here's a look at the origins of aromatherapy and essential oils. The birth of aromatherapy is generally attributed to Ancient Egypt, but the idea of using natural oils for medicinal purposes didn't just come from Egypt. Ancient Indians and Chinese also explored natural oils extensively, and it became an integral part of Indian Ayurvedic medicine.  The Egyptians used oils for many different purposes including religious ceremonies, cosmetics, medicine and even mummification. During mummification, embalmers used various botanicals like cinnamon, frankincense and myrrh, along with cedar and juniper oils to prepare the body for burial. They also left jars of essential oils in the tombs, presumably for the deceased to enjoy in the afterlife! Aromatic oils were extensively used for prayers, with each God having a different oil dedicated to them. The Egyptians cultivated plants specifically for their oils and

For my birthday recently, I got a gift certificate for a spa treatment, which I am really excited about. It is so relaxing and rejuvenating to both the body and the mind. I have also recently started using an oil diffuser in my room, and I absolutely love it!. It leaves my room smelling so fresh and natural, and feels so relaxing. It got me interested in aromatherapy and I found this cool book on using essential oils for different ailments called  Introducing Essential Oils: Ancient Medicine  by Dr. Josh Axe and others.  As you might guess from the title, the book not only describes the uses for different natural oils but also details how such oils have been used for healing through the ages, including during ancient Egyptian, Chinese, Greek, and Biblical times. They are still popular in many parts of the world and are slowly but surely gaining popularity here in the U.S.  Using aromatherapy for relaxation has been used for thousands of years, and its effectiveness is no myth- accordin

One of the earliest surgeries interestingly involved the head and can be thought as a form of brain surgery. Trepanation was an ancient practice that involved boring of holes in the skull. The practice dates back to the Neolithic period which was 12,000-4,000 years ago and it appears to have been practiced in several different civilizations. Apparently, 5-10% of all skulls found from the Neolithic period from around the world show signs of trepanation. After the Stone Age, it was most commonly practiced in ancient China and South America, and the practice continued in Europe through the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The name is derived from the Greek word trypanon , which means "a borer." It is believed that trepanation was done to treat various ailments including head injuries, epilepsies, and blood clots. It may also have been some form of tribal ritual to cleanse the body of evil spirits, particularly of the mentally ill. Hippocrates gives the most detailed account of tr

The coronavirus pandemic has brought a fresh focus on personal habits; we all know the drill by now: wash hands with soap for 20 seconds, use hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol and do not touch your face. These simple habits go a long way in protecting us from not just covid-19 but any infectious disease (something to remember next flu season!). Although it helps to be reminded, most people know the value of personal hygiene and its effect on health. Infectious diseases were common in ancient times, and although the cause of such diseases was not well understood, the concept of hygiene was certainly associated with health. The word hygiene itself derives from Hygieia, the Greek goddess of health and cleanliness, who was the daughter of Asclepius, the god of medicine. Statue of Hygieia. Image: Greek Mythology The Greeks had the theory of miasma that attributed diseases to bad air, which was really a primitive concept of hygiene. Hippocrates himself recommended patie

Happy Easter! Every year for Easter Sunday, Christians around the world pray to Jesus Christ, their Savior. It is the fundamental belief of the Christian faith that Christ came on earth to heal humans and rid them of their pains and sicknesses. On this occasion, I thought it would be cool to look at some of the supernatural beliefs related to medicine in the ancient world. Most of the ancient civilizations had a close relationship with god. All suffering and diseases were attributed to the wrath of the gods. This was most evident in the oldest civilizations of Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians believed that gods, demons, and spirits played a key role in causing diseases. They believed that spirits blocked channels in the body and affected the way the body functioned. They used prayer as a solution to their diseases, and priests played the role of doctors. Similarly, the Babylonians believed spirits were responsible for illness, with each spirit responsible for o

Coronavirus has become a household name after the current COVID-19 outbreak. The virus has been identified as a positive sense single-stranded RNA virus and has the technical name, SARS-CoV2. It is also well known that it is highly contagious and is transmitted between humans through coughing and sneezing via respiratory droplets. Scientists have a pretty good understanding of what causes the COVID-19 disease and how it spreads through the population, which makes it easier for people to understand the concept and purpose of social distancing and quarantine. But in ancient times, ideas about the cause of diseases were entirely speculative and there were many interesting theories before the germ theory of diseases was established in the late 1800s. Supernatural Theory Unsurprisingly, the earliest theory was that diseases were caused by supernatural forces. People believed that when gods became angry they unleased their fury upon mankind by sending diseases to cause suffering. For ex

As the world learns a new way of life involving self-isolation amid the global spread of coronavirus, the concept of quarantine has been brought to the forefront. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, quarantine means “to put or hold in isolation to prevent the spread of disease” and that is exactly what we are experiencing right now. Many countries and several states in the U.S. have imposed mandatory isolation of its population to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Although the mass quarantine imposed today might be unprecedented in history, quarantine is certainly not a new concept. The word itself is derived from "quaranta giorni", which in Italian means 40 days. It originated sometime in the mid-14th century, when all ships coming into Venice were isolated before passengers and crew were allowed to disembark during the Black Death plague epidemic. However, the practice of quarantine dates further back, all the way to ancient times. Ancient Greeks were isolating si