History of Medicine

In my previous post, I explored the history of cancer. Since we know it existed in ancient times, it follows that so did its name. In fact, the name "cancer" was coined by none other than the great Hippocrates (well, not the exact name but the root of the name). Hippocrates in fact, used two terms,  carcinoma and carcinos,  to describe ulcerous and non-ulcerous tumors respectively. He named the tumors after Carcinus (or Karkinos), a giant crab in Greek mythology that was sent by the Goddess Hera to help Hydra fight against Hercules. As to why Hippocrates chose to name the tumor after a crab is not quite clear but there are several theories:       -  The hardness of a malignant tumor reminded him of the hard shell of a crab.      - The pain induced by a malignant tumor is similar to a sharp pinch of a crab's claw.     -  The tenacity of cancer is similar to the determination with which a crab bites and grabs on to a person.  While all these theories seem plausible, the

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

Happy Fall! The prettiest season in New England with leaves changing color and the weather getting cooler, not to mention hordes of squirrels scurrying around gathering acorns for the winter (I just learned that a group of squirrels is in fact called a scurry!). Fall is also special for me because it's my birthday season (plus Halloween and Thanksgiving season)! Changing color of leaves in Fall In ancient medicine, Fall is associated with the beginning of the Yin cycle (of yin and yang fame) with the days getting shorter and cooler. The Summer element of Fire (signifying activity and energy) gives way to the Metal element in fall. The metal signifies calmness and organization, so here's to a more organized and structured lifestyle (which seems impossible right now with senior year and college apps on my head but oh, so necessary!) An old Chinese saying by Tao Te Ching goes,  When I let go of what I have, I receive what I need. When I let go of what I am, I become what I might b

Welcome to Fall! Today, the autumn equinox marks the beginning of fall, my favorite season of all! “Equinox” of course means equal night in Latin and marks the day when the sun shines directly on the equator and both poles are equidistant from the sun, making day and night of equal length. It is also a point of balance between changing seasons, and between feminine and masculine energies. Position of earth relative to sun  It held special significance in ancient times as many societies celebrated it as a festival of harvest. In Greek mythology, the fall equinox marks the return of the goddess Persephone to the underworld to reunite with her husband Hades, king of the underworld (who incidentally abducted her after falling in love with her). Although she was rescued by her father, Zeus, she chooses to go back to Hades for six months every year during autumn and winter. Her mother, Demeter, who is the Goddess of agriculture and fertility, mourns her loss by making the earth infertile dur

I have previously written about the ancient medical science of India called Ayurveda. Tracing its roots back to 6000 BCE (unofficially), Ayurveda is older than the Classical civilizations and thus predates Greek medicine. Ayurveda is still in practice in many parts of India as alternative medicine. But I recently discovered there is another form of alternative medicine in India called Unani medicine. I first heard about it from a Harvard professor and I was embarrassed to admit I hadn't heard of it, so I decided to dig deeper and what I found is quite interesting. Turns out it is still used in practice today as one of the 5 traditional medical sciences recognized by the Indian government as AYUSH ( Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddhi, Homeopathy).   Interestingly, Unani medicine is none other than ancient Greek medicine practiced by Hippocrates and Galen. In fact, Unani means "Greek" in Arabic. Unani medicine was introduced in India around the tenth century by Arab and Persian

In a true marriage of tradition and innovation, an AI (artificial intelligence) robot has been built by a Singapore startup called Ai Treat to give massages based on the tradition of Tui Na, an ancient Chinese medical therapy. The robotic masseuse, EMMA, uses sensors and 3D vision to measure muscle stiffness and identifies pressure points before giving a personalized massage to patients for the purpose of relaxation and pain relief. EMMA (Expert Manipulative Massage Automation) was developed by a physician trained in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and uses the same principles of personalized soft tissue massage which is derived from Tui Na therapy. Tui Na is the oldest known massage therapy and is one of the four branches of TCM, along with acupuncture, qi gong, and herbal medicine. It is meant to stimulate the flow of qi to promote balance and harmony within the body. The massage alternates between yin techniques, which are gentle, passive, and meditative, and the yang techniques

I read a fascinating discussion on the contrasts between ancient and modern medicine which really struck a chord since I have spent much time researching and writing about the concepts of experience versus evidence in medicine. Reflecting on cupping therapy, the paper's author, Dr. Anna Dinallo of the University of New Mexico, made the observation that modern medicine is based solely on knowledge of anatomy, which is learned primarily through dissection. Therefore, all modern medical knowledge is really obtained from a dead body. The author also argues that modern practitioners use anatomical dissections to discredit alternative medicine which does not have an anatomical foundation. I found that really interesting. All ancient medicine is based on experience. Diagnosis itself relies on examination through observation of pulse, smell, and sound-- all senses that the author argues rightly, are absent in a corpse during dissection. In fact, Ayurveda has 8 distinct examinations that ar