History of Medicine

Although not directly related to medicine, I decided to explore the origin of tennis, which I find from my own personal experience, to be a fantastic sport for physical health and mental health. My Varsity season recently ended after an exciting season (and an unusual one with masks and all) that ended with a close semifinal loss to two-time State champs, Acton-Boxboro. The thought of having to wait another nine months for tennis season made me nostalgic, and I decided to write a blog about tennis exploring how and when the sport started and if it existed in the Classical world. Turns out, tennis was not played in its current form during the Classical period, but there were similar games played by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans that can be considered precursors to tennis. The name tennis itself is thought to be derived from the ancient Egyptian town Tinnis, while the Arabic word for the palm of the hand, rahat , is thought to have led to the word racket ( or racquet as som

Happy Summer! On the first (official) day of summer, here's a look at some of the traditions relating to this special day in the ancient world. First of all, the term solstice is derived from the Latin  solstitium , meaning "sun stands still." This word was widely used in the late Roman republic, and it derives from the combination of two other Latin words  sol (sun) and sistere  (stop or stand still). On this day (typically June 21), the sun is at its highest point in the sky and the day is the longest in the northern hemisphere.  The sun’s rays hit the earth more directly than at any other time, giving it enough light and warmth to help plants grow most efficiently through photosynthesis. Animals also eat uninhibitedly during the longer days, allowing them to grow fat for the winter. In fact, Native Americans apparently called the summer solstice, “the moon of making fat” for this reason.  Position of the sun on summer solstice Not only is summer solstice considered im

Since I have been writing about Ayurvedic remedies of late, I decided to explore the history of the ancient branch of medicine that was practiced in India. Ayurveda is considered the oldest healing science by many scholars. Although its exact origin is unknown, it is believed to be as old as 6000 BCE, predating the Indus Valley civilization. The name Ayurveda is derived from the Sanskrit words ayus and veda , which mean "life" and "knowledge" respectively. Therefore, Ayurveda literally means “the knowledge of life.”  The five elements of Ayurveda There are two main books in Ayurveda- Charaka Samhita and Susruta Samhita, which were written around 1000 BCE and 5th century AD, years after it came into practice. These texts include diagnosis, treatments, and strategies to prevent illness, herbal remedies for various ailments, as well as surgical techniques.Ayurveda, although described to be a traditional system of medicine, is more accurately a holistic system of welln

 Ashwagandha (also known as Indian ginseng or winter cherry) is another common herb that is used commonly as an Ayurvedic remedy. The woody plant native to India and Africa has the scientific name of Withania somnifera. Somnifera means "sleep inducing" in Latin. Ashwagandha, on the other hand, means "smell of horse" in Sanskrit, which suggests it is a rather foul-smelling herb!😒 Another explanation for the name, however, is that it imparts the strength and energy of a horse, thereby earning the unique moniker. Ashwagandha plant with fruit While ashwagandha is a well-known plant in India, its reputation is only now reaching western medicine, but it is fast gaining popularity as a sleep aid and anxiety reliever for alternative medicine seekers. I have seen ashwagandha bottles stocked on Costco shelves and featured in television infomercials in recent years, much to my amusement. Ashwagandha is considered a natural adaptogen, which helps the body manage stress.  Ashwa

Turmeric is a very popular spice used in Indian cooking- it is what gives curry its distinctive yellow color. The yellow color can also cause staining in clothes that is practically impossible to get rid of! Turmeric is also one of the oldest medicinal herbs and extensively used in Ayurvedic medicine. It is well known in India for its antiseptic and anti-inflammatory effects. Commonly referred to as the Golden Spice, turmeric (or haldi in India) is said to have many medicinal properties including strengthening energy and improving blood circulation, and is used to treat a variety of ailments like asthma, bronchitis, arthritis, sprains, and swelling. In fact, whenever I suffered a minor injury, the first thing my mom applied on my wound was a paste made from turmeric (which is found in every Indian kitchen even in America, and used in almost every traditional Indian dish). I grew up rolling my eyes at one of the most common household remedies for most Indians.🙄 Turmeric, also known as

Ancient and modern medicine differ primarily in their approach to finding a cure- the former relied on experience and accumulated knowledge (tried and true method, if you will), whereas modern medicine uses chemistry and research to determine the therapeutic potential of a drug. As a result, the two are often distinguished as Experience vs. Evidence-based medicine. Another important difference between ancient and modern medicine is that modern medicine uses targeted treatment of the specific illness whereas ancient medicine relied on holistic healing.  Experience Vs. Evidence- Based Medicine While both are on opposite sides of the medical spectrum with modern medicine seeming far more logical and therefore reliable, modern medicine still lacks cures for many diseases that traditional medicines seemed to have a remedy for, including common ailments like the cold and stomach issues.  In fact, after years of dismissing ancient (mainly traditional eastern) medical practices as non-scientif

If ancient Chinese medicine can give us a cure for malaria, could it also provide cures for other diseases like cancer? That was my thought when I first read about the discovery of the malaria remedy in TCM, and apparently, I wasn't the first to think that! A pharmacology professor at Yale University is trying to find out exactly that. Prof. Yung-Chi Cheng of the Yale School of Medicine is studying botanical drugs based on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that can make traditional cancer treatments work better. The professor calls the approach "WE medicine"- a combination of Western experimental-based pharmacology and eastern experience plant-based medicine.  I found the story of how his research began also quite interesting. After he expressed his interest in Chinese medicine for cancer treatment to a postdoc researcher, Shwu-Huey Liu, she went to the library and started researching Chinese herbs. After narrowing the search to common herbs that are still in use, and ha