History of Medicine

St. Patrick's Day celebrates the patron saint of the Irish who brought Christianity to Ireland and taught about the Holy Trinity using a three-leafed clover (hence the significance of the clover). Over time, he also came to be associated with healing of several diseases like epilepsy. He is associated with some 50 holy wells in Ireland, whose waters are supposed to help with a variety of ailments from toothache to eye and skin ailments. While these superstitions have long passed, I think it's important to celebrate the contributions of the Irish to modern medicine on a day that celebrates Irish culture and traditions. St. Patrick's Well in Belcoo, Ireland Of all Irish doctors, the story I found most captivating is that of Dr. James Barry, nee Margaret Bulkley, who disguised herself as a man in order to practice medicine in 1790 in Cork, Ireland. She became the first female doctor in all of the U.K. and also the first one to perform a successful caesarian operation. Margaret

Happy Pi Day. On March 14 (3.14 for the uninitiated), we celebrate the special number pi which has so much importance and use across all practical fields from the obvious (geometry, astronomy, architecture) to the obscure (music theory, communications, quantum physics). It is often called the most important number in the universe. Interestingly, Pi Day happens to coincide with Einstein's birthday, which is quite apt in my opinion because pi represents a mathematical wonder and Einstein surely was a human wonder. The discovery of the number pi is credited to Greek mathematician, Archimedes, in the 3rd century BC when studying the relationship between a circle's circumference to its diameter (the ratio is pi) - hence the Greek alphabet name. However, even before that, all the way back in 1800 BCE, the Babylonians knew of it and had approximated the value in base 60 as 25/8 or 3.125.  The beauty of pi is that the digits don't end - in mathematical terms, it is an irrational an

As we mark the second anniversary of the Covid-19 pandemic today (March 11, 2020 was when the WHO declared the coronavirus disease as a pandemic), I thought it would be interesting to compare it with other historical pandemics once again. The most recent pandemic before the current one was the Spanish flu outbreak that took place right after World War I. It was caused by an H1N1 virus outbreak (origin unknown but suspected to be Kansas, USA!) that spread worldwide during 1918-1919. It was carried to all corners of the world by troops returning home from combat and infected 1/3rd of the world's population (500 million people). The death count was over 50 million people. We are fast approaching the same number of infections for Covid-19, with the worldwide number of infections reported to be over 450 million today according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The number of deaths, thankfully, is much lower than the Spanish flu, but is still a shockingly high number exce

After my last few posts on stress and happiness, it is only fitting that I write on mental health today which is designated as the World Teen Mental Wellness Day. According to the American Psychological Association, Gen Z has the worst mental health of any generation. The Teen Mental Wellness Day was designed to normalize conversations and remove the stigmas surrounding teen mental health issues.  Mental health has been a touchy subject in many cultures, including mine. And mental health is thought to be a more "modern" concept or problem. But looking back at ancient medicine, the same issues around mental health existed for centuries. Mental health was first considered by Hippocrates whose “healthy mind in a healthy body” approach was the main component of ancient Greek medicine. In fact, mental care formed one of the three main categories in Hippocratic medicine along with physical health promotion and illness/trauma care. Hippocrates believed that mental illnesses can be t

One of the key elements of yoga is breathing exercises; in fact, many claim breathing techniques called pranayama form the foundation of yoga as one of its eight pillars, along with asanas (exercises), meditation.  Pranayama is derived from Sanskrit words,  prana meaning "life force" and yama meaning "control." So essentially it means controlling your life force. (More on the life force concept to follow, but I also covered it in a previous post which can be found at https://ancientmedicina.blogspot.com/2020/09/vital-energy-in-ancient-medicine.html)  One of the pranayama exercises used in yoga is called  Nadi Shodhana  which means purification of the channel or flow in Sanskrit. It requires timed deep inhaling and exhaling from alternate nostrils repeatedly. While pranayama is common practice for anyone with knowledge of yoga (including my family), what is not widely known is the real medical benefits of this breathing technique. Many people do it because it is p

While on the topic of exercise and health, one cannot ignore the growing popularity of yoga in medicine. Its health benefits have been touted in alternative medicine for many years, but yoga is finally being embraced by clinical western medicine. Consisting of a series of "asanas" or stretching exercises, deep breathing, and mental focus, yoga is known to release stress and relax the body and mind. Researchers have now found direct evidence that yoga can indeed have a quantifiable effect to treat a number of diseases. The biggest benefit yoga has is on cardiovascular health. The ability of yoga to reduce stress has a direct correlation to heart health because stress releases hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which narrow the arteries and increase blood pressure. Yoga also increases blood circulation, which further helps cardiovascular health. And there is data to prove this. A 2014 controlled group study showed that the group practicing yoga had lower total cholesterol a

Belated Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Lupercalia today! Lupercalia is the equivalent of Valentine's Day in Classical times. Celebrated on February 15 during the ancient Roman days, as far back as the 6th century BC, the feast of Lupercalia marked the arrival of spring. The celebrations entailed fertility celebrations and coupling with the traditional animal sacrifices and feasting.  Mosaic depicting Lupercalia ritual of hitting woman with goat skin for fertility The celebration involved a sacrificial goat whose hide was cut into strips (called thongs!) which were then taken by the luperci (priests) around town whipping women (naked no less) with them. The symbolic beating was thought to enhance fertility in women. Because it focused on couples, Lupercalia is thought to have served as the inspiration for the modern Valentine's Day. Valentines' Day became an official celebration when Pope Gelasius I of Rome, in A.D. 496, banned Lupercalia as a pagan ritual and declared