MTT - Revision Notes

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Prehistoric

Civilisation:

Couldn't write therefore couldn't pass on ideas/cures etc -limitting progress

They were nomadic so didn't settle down or build things like hospitals

Believed a system of beliefs that saw humankind at the mercy of unpredictable spirits. Said to bring life, death, health or disease - which led to rituals and the shaman or witch doctor dominated medical knowledge

Thoughts about the body/disaese

We think they thought very little of the body but some had brutal practices like stripping bones of flesh, being bleached and buried at different piles, it suggest though that they knew something of bone structure and archaeologists have found evidence of canniblism among prehistoric people - so we presume they know about flesh and the inner organs of the body. but impossible to determine!!

thought life and functions of the body were determined by the spirits (ANIMISM). Australian Aborigines believed illness occurred when a person's spirit was lost of stolen by an enemy.

Surgery

Australian aborigines were able to stitch up wounds and set broken bones by encasing them with mud and planking them with wood. Although they were badly set.

They also use to trephine or trepan skulls to either remove an evil spirit or stop a headache or epilepsy. Some skulls showed healing again, suggests they lived afterwards and so wasn't used to kill people.

Diagnosis and treatment of the prehistorics

No archaeological evidence that proves how prehistoric people diagnosed or treated illness as they didn't write. But used purely spiritual way by 'seeing' the cause of an illness in a trance or through magic rituals. Many of their cures were spiritual, using bones, beads or magic paintings or they danced. Impossible to prove!! But could have used herbs for healing propertiesDiagnosis and treatment of the prehistorics

No archaeological evidence that proves how prehistoric people diagnosed or treated illness as they didn't write. But used purely spiritual way by 'seeing' the cause of an illness in a trance or through magic rituals. Many of their cures were spiritual, using bones, beads or magic paintings or they danced. Impossible to prove!! But could have used herbs for healing properties

Diagnosis and treatment of the prehistorics

No archaeological evidence that proves how prehistoric people diagnosed or treated illness as they didn't write. But used purely spiritual way by 'seeing' the cause of an illness in a trance or through magic rituals. Many of their cures were spiritual, using bones, beads or magic paintings or they danced. Impossible to prove!! But could have used herbs for healing propertiesDiagnosis and treatment of the prehistorics

No archaeological evidence that proves how prehistoric people diagnosed or treated illness as they didn't write. But used purely spiritual way by 'seeing' the cause of an illness in a trance or through magic rituals. Many of their cures were spiritual, using bones, beads or magic paintings or they danced. Impossible to prove!! But could have used herbs for healing properties

Diagnosis and treatment of the prehistorics

No archaeological evidence that proves how prehistoric people diagnosed or treated illness as they didn't write. But used purely spiritual way by 'seeing' the cause of an illness in a trance or through magic rituals. Many of their cures were spiritual, using bones, beads or magic paintings or they danced. Impossible to prove!! But could have used herbs for healing properties

Public Health

Dind;t have a concept of public health since they didn't settle in one place for too long, so didn't see the need to build sewers or hospitals.

Unlikely idea of personal health either. Aboriginals did have some practices that seem health, i.e burying their exrement far from camp, but only did this for religious reasons (stops an enemy finding and and stealing its spirit), rather than for medical health reasons. Although this idea did stop disease spreading

Prehistoric Doctors

Unlikely they had any real doctors but they may have ahad witch doctors to turn to when they were ill. Would have combined healing with other spuritual functions

Egyptian

Civilisation:

Firtst great civilisation with the beginnings of medical care and a lot of money it was hallway between the stone age superstition and Greek philosophy. Though spirits causes illness

Had great stability and stayed in one place so had a farming economy with an organised government, laws and social conventions. T=Peoplw were very wealthy so could afford to take care of their health

Had a formal religion, which required temples, priests and rituals like mummification - some priests turned into doctoring

Had writings and calculations so were able to develop and share their ideas

Travelled all over the world and traded herbal remedies and ideas

Had a good sense of logical ideas, took the river Nile and turned into a medical idea - LOGICAL!!

More on culture of Egyptians:

Had a government who needed a palace physicia

Had a society that needed towns, laws and social conventions, Egyptians observed irrigation channels by farmers and eventually developed the Blocked Channels Theory

Had a basic hygiene because of sockal ideas, not because of medical ideas, but still developed and prevented illness

Religion included mummification that helped aid medicine by the knowledge of internal organs and professional doctor developed from the priesthood

Were very clean because of religion

Had good use of writing so could 'look-up' ideas and write their own down - very useful for passing info on

They measure their medicines using Ro

Had good trade that brought herbs and spices from everywhere, egyptian medical knowledge spread all over the world and some doctors became famous

Observation:

Preists and doctors observed internal organs of body during mummification and carefully took diagnosis observing and recurring whether cures worked -cthis helped them with the BLOCKED CHANNEL THEORY

Egyptian ideas about body and disease:

Found papyri, shows that egyptians had knowledge of bone structure and some understanding of breathing, pulse, brain and liver, they developed physiology that saw the heart as the centre of a system of 46 tubes, or channels, they failed to realise that different rubes (veins, intestine, lung etc) had a specific purpose. But called this the CHANNEL THEORY

Egyptians believed that life was created and controlled by the Gods. Eg the god of Throth who created humans beings and their god-demon Bes oversaw childbirth.

Egyptiansobserved damage done to famers' fields and noticed when an irrigation was blocked it stopped working and the crops died - thus inventing the BLOCKED CHANNEL THOERY!1 --> This was a crucial breakthrough in the history of medicine, as it led doctors to abandon purely spiritual cures for illness and try to practice those designed simply to unblock the channe

Egyptian ideas about body and disease:

Found papyri, shows that egyptians had knowledge of bone structure and some understanding of breathing, pulse, brain and liver, they developed physiology that saw the heart as the centre of a system of 46 tubes, or channels, they failed to realise that different rubes (veins, intestine, lung etc) had a specific purpose. But called this the CHANNEL THEORY

Egyptians believed that life was created and controlled by the Gods. Eg the god of Throth who created humans beings and their god-demon Bes oversaw childbirth.

Egyptiansobserved damage done to famers' fields and noticed when an irrigation was blocked it stopped working and the crops died - thus inventing the BLOCKED CHANNEL THOERY!1 --> This was a crucial breakthrough in the history of medicine, as it led doctors to abandon purely spiritual cures for illness and try to practice those designed simply to unblock the channe

Egyptian ideas about body and disease:

Found papyri, shows that egyptians had knowledge of bone structure and some understanding of breathing, pulse, brain and liver, they developed physiology that saw the heart as the centre of a system of 46 tubes, or channels, they failed to realise that different rubes (veins, intestine, lung etc) had a specific purpose. But called this the CHANNEL THEORY

Egyptians believed that life was created and controlled by the Gods. Eg the god of Throth who created humans beings and their god-demon Bes oversaw childbirth.

Egyptiansobserved damage done to famers' fields and noticed when an irrigation was blocked it stopped working and the crops died - thus inventing the BLOCKED CHANNEL THOERY!1 --> This was a crucial breakthrough in the history of medicine, as it led doctors to abandon purely spiritual cures for illness and try to practice those designed simply to unblock the channe

Egyptian beliefs on surgery

Egyptians were good at practical first aid - could reset dislocated joints and could mend broken bones. As long as the problem was on skin they could deal with it. Egyptian doctors were good at bandaging and could also stitch wounds.

Found surgical instruments that were made by metal workers, although surgery never went into the body

they didn't have any ANAESTHETICS and only had herbal antiseptics - so successful operations would have been difficult for them to perform

Methods of DIAGNOSIS and TREATMENT

Egyptians examined their patients and made their diagnosis with reference to medical textbooks. Advised doctors how to do the examination and what a patient's disease may be. Doctors asked questions, took patients pulse and touched the affected part.

Many had practical treatments using natural substances such as ochre and frankincense from Afric, or cinnamon and pepper from India. Foundlocally

Doctors also made medicine - using ro and some recommendations

Many cures were based on the channel theory and had to unblock the blocked channels by bloodletting, going to the toilet, bleeding, purging etc

Some of their cures used what we call today sympathetic magic. For instance they used a pig's eye to try to cure blindness - they believed that the power of sight in the pig's eye would transfer to the patient's eye.

Egyptians Public Health

Egyptians had simple toilets and baths, men and women took care of personal cleanliness and appearance and evidence that eye make up helped prevent eyes from diseases and slept under mosquito nets

Priets for religious reasons kept themselves clean. Regularly cleaning themselves and washing but this was to appeal to the gods not for health reasons

Didn't have a public health system in the modern sense of state-organised public toilets etc he ancient Egyptians used baths and toilets, and took care over personal cleanliness and appearance (including eye make-up). However, this was probably more motivated by the desire to keep up appearances for social reasons than for reasons of health and hygiene.

The ancient Egyptians used mosquito nets. However, this was perhaps simply so that mosquitoes wouldn't bite them, not to prevent malaria.

Egyptian priests kept themselves and the objects they used in their religious rituals scrupulously clean. However, this was for religious reasons - again not for reasons of health.

Egyptian doctors:

Society was rich so it left room for an educated class to emerge. Born were priests and doctors who developed medicine with impressive results

Some egyptian doctors believed that the gods caused disease but that they did so by disturbing the normal workings of the body. So alongside their prayer and spiritual remedies, the doctors developed practical cures to put the body right

They were the first people to develop empirical methods to cure disease, rather tun simply seeking spiritual explanations for it

The image above is of the god Anubis bandaging Sennedjem during mummification.

This put the ideas of Egyptian doctors halfway between those of the witch-doctors of the Stone Age and those of the Greek philosophers. They made the break from superstition, and began the march towards modern medical care. The Egyptian god of healing, Imhotep, had been, in fact, a doctor.

The Egyptians were the first people to develop the profession of medicine.Doctors and progress in Egyptian medicine

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