History of Medicine

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

Although western medicine has its roots in the Classical Greek civilization, the history of medicine dates back thousands of years before Classical Greece. Medicine started developing as a science in the earliest human civilizations and developed independently in all four of the major ancient civilizations: • Babylon/Mesopotamia • Egypt • India • China They represent four of the oldest branches of medicine with each developing independently and presumably without any interaction or influence from each other. And yet, they have many similarities. Ancient medicine in (clockwise from top left) Babylon, Egypt, China, and India  Babylon Babylonians believed that diseases were caused by supernatural forces (gods and demons) and therefore, did not distinguish between magic and medicine, yet they introduced the practice of diagnosis and prognosis. Treatment included identifying the illness according to the power that caused it, and treating it with medical agents and rituals to appease t

Previously I wrote about Qi, the vital energy or life force energy derived from traditional Chinese medicine. Interestingly but not surprisingly, Chinese medicine is not the only one that believes in a vital energy guiding a person’s physical and mental processes. Indian medicine has a similar concept called prana . Prana is also a life force energy that flows through the human body. When it flows freely and is balanced, it results in good health and well-being. If it gets blocked or thrown off-balance, it causes illness. Chinese qi and Indian prana are very similar concepts, both help maintain health and happiness in humans by controlling physical and mental processes. And they are not the only ones either. Ancient Greek and Latin philosophies have a very similar concept: the Greeks called it  pneuma  (defined in the dictionary as the vital spirit or creative force of a person) while the Latin named it  spiritus . The Japanese apparently call it ki . In fact, it seems 97 cul

The Chinese (those who believe in Traditional Chinese Medicine) believe COVID-19 is caused by an imbalance of qi in the lungs. So what exactly is this qi? It has become a popular concept in the New Age movement, but it isn't very clear what it signifies, so I decided to dig a little deeper into it. Turns out, it is the fundamental basis of ancient Chinese medicine. Ancient Chinese medicine is based on the simple (in theory) principle that every system needs to be in harmony for health, well being and sustainability. When this harmony is broken, an imbalance is created in one direction and that leads to illness, disease, and many other sufferings. But it is more complicated than that- a system is not just a person, but everything that is interconnected and interdependent. That includes a family, community, environment… and the entire world. The harmony is created by two equal and opposite forces or elements: yin and yang. Qi (pronounced "chee") is the vital energy tha

Just as ancient Indian medicine is under review for potential use for treatment of COVID-19, the Chinese have also turned to their ancient medical science to combat the disease. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is widely used in China, and represents a multi-billion dollar industry. So when the novel coronavirus hit China in early 2020 and no effective treatment was found, the Chinese turned to TCM, apparently based on their past experience in the treatment of infectious diseases including the SARS epidemic in 2003. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the human body (and in fact, all matter) is made up of Qi or vital energy. The qi controls the basic functions of the human body; when the normal flow of this life energy is disturbed, it causes disease. In the case of COVID, the pathogenic qi is stronger than the healthy qi and has an adverse effect on the lungs. TCM doctors described severe cases of COVID-19 as caused by a noxious dampness that causes the qi in the lungs to