ORIGIN AND THEORY OF MEDICINE AND NURSING

The knowledge of prehistoric medical practice comes from paleopathology, or study of the pictographs that showed the medical techniques, of the skulls and skeletons, as well as the surgical instruments of ancient societies and non-technological contemporary. Despite the fact that this study concerns anthropology, some of these practices have survived until modern times, which justifies their consideration in the history of medicine. Serious illnesses were of special interest to primitive men even though they could not treat them. They divided the genesis of the disease into two categories, each with a variety of therapies that were mutually exclusive. The first and most numerous were the processes attributed to the influence of malevolent demons, to whom the projection of an alien spirit, a stone or a worm within the body of the trusting patient was attributed.

These diseases had to be tackled through spells, dances, sacrifices, spells, talismans and other measures. If in the end the devil entered the body of his victim, due to lack of precautions or despite them, all efforts focused on making the body for the demon uninhabitable with beats, torture or starving the patient from starving. The alien spirit could be thrown with potions that caused violent vomiting or expelled through a hole made in the skull. This last procedure, called trepanation, was also a remedy for madness, epilepsy and headache. However, the therapies applied in the disability were more effective. Surgical techniques such as cleaning and treatment of wounds by cauterization, poultices and sutures, reduction of dislocations and fractures, with the use of splints (or tablets) were practiced in primitive societies.

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Other additional therapies included purgs, diuretics, laxatives, emetics, and enemas. The greatest achievement of the time was the use of plant extracts, whose narcotic and stimulating properties were discovered little by little. They proved so effective that even today they are still used. Digitalina, a cardiac stimulant extracted from the foxglove (Genus digitalis), is undoubtedly the best known. On the other hand, the so-called philosophy of science, which is properly research on the general nature of scientific practice, deals with inquiring and knowing how scientific theories are developed, evaluated and changed, and if science is capable of revealing the truth of hidden entities and processes of the nature. Its object is as old and as widespread as science itself. Some scientists have shown a vivid interest in the philosophy of science and a few, such as Galileo, Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein, have made important contributions.

Numerous scientists, however, have been satisfied leaving the philosophy of science to philosophers, and have preferred to continue 'doing science' instead of spending more time considering in general terms how 'science is done'. Among philosophers, the philosophy of science has always been a central problem; Within the Western tradition, among the most important figures prior to the 20th century, Aristotle, René Descartes, John Locke, David Hume, Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill stand out. Much of the philosophy of science is inseparable from the Epistemology, the theory of knowledge, a theme that has been considered by almost all philosophers.

 

Egyptian doctors: Before the advent of the most advanced Greek medicine in the 6th century BC, pre-scientific systems of medicine already existed in various societies, based on magic, folk remedies and elementary surgery. In Egyptian medicine, two tendencies are distinguished, the magical religious one, which incorporates very primitive elements, and the empiricorational one, based on experience and observation, and in which the mystical features were absent. The doctor rationally treated common eye and skin diseases due to their favorable location, however the less accessible processes were still treated with spells, remedies and rituals applied by the magician or sorcerer. In the III dynasty the doctor emerged as a primitive form of scientist, distinguishing himself from the Druid or the priest. The first doctor whose name has endured was Imhotep (he lived around 2725 BC), also famous for his position as vizier (high-grade officer) of the pharaoh and for being a builder of pyramids and an astrologer. The doctor used to spend arduous years of training in temple schools where he learned the art of establishing a diagnosis by interrogating the patient, inspection and palpation (examination of the body by touch).

Some of the drugs that contained the prescriptions have been used over the centuries. Favorite laxatives were figs, dates, and oils. Tannic acid, the main derivative of the acacia seed, was used in the treatment of burns. Although the Egyptians used embalming, their anatomical knowledge was scarce, and they only tried to perform minor surgery techniques. According to the writings of the Greek historian Herodotus, the ancient Egyptians recognized dentistry as an important surgical specialty. There are indications that suggest that Egyptian studies on physiology and pathology, based on the work of the doctor Imhotep and the subsequent vivisection of criminals by the Greek anatomist and Greek surgeon Herophilus of Chalcedon, influenced the Greek philosopher Tales of Miletus, who traveled to Egypt in the 7th century BC.

● Indian doctors: The practices of ancient Hindu medicine (1500 to 1000 BC) are described in the work of two later doctors, Charaka (2nd century AD) and Sushruta (4th century AD). Sushruta made acceptable descriptions of diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, and diabetes mellitus. He also wrote about the use of Indian hemp (cannabis) and henbane (Hyoscyamus) to induce anesthesia, and included specific antidotes and highly qualified treatments for poisonous snake bites. An old drug derived from the root of the Indian plant Rauwolfia serpentine was the first modern tranquilizer. In the field of surgery, the Indians are recognized for being the most skilled of all antiquity. It is believed that they were the first to perform a skin transplant and plastic surgery of the nose. With the appearance of Buddhism, the study of anatomy was prohibited, and the Muslim conquest produced a decline and stagnation in the field of medicine. Despite this, through the writings of the Arab doctor Avicenna, among others, an appreciable knowledge in the field of hygiene, nutrition and eugenics was transmitted to the West.

● Chinese doctors: In ancient China, the religious prohibition of dissection resulted in little knowledge of the anatomy and function of the organism and, consequently, the surgical technique was very rudimentary. External treatments included massage and the application of suction cups, as a form against irritations through which the blood is brought to the surface of the skin thanks to the application of a suction cup and, when extracting the air, a partial vacuum was created. Two techniques used in rheumatic and other diseases were acupuncture, or needle puncture with needles to relieve pain, and moxibustion, cautery or cauterization of the skin by applying burning moxa, a leaf preparation macerated of Artemis that was later lit. Rhubarb, aconite, sulfur, arsenic, and the most important, opium, are important Chinese drugs; Mixtures of organs and animal excretions were also used as a vestige of primitive rituals.

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