The Encapsulated History of Medicine

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Who first used plants as medicine we do not know. But someone - or more possibly, many different people - discovered that some plants are good to eat and still others have healing properties. This was a first step in a lengthy process of trial and error in which man built up his vast knowledge about plants. The following is a digest starting from what we know to be the earliest recordings of medicinal herbal use to present day conventional medicine.

2750 BC Imhotep, whose name means “the one that comes in peace” is known as the first Egyptian physician. He serves Djoser, a Third Dynasty Pharaoh and is renowned for his healing powers. His reputation lives on long after his death and eventually he is transformed into a god.
2700 BC Emperor Huang-ti writes a treatise on medicine.
1500 BC In India, good health is seen as the responsibility of the individual, hence, Ayurvedic Medicine. The term “Ayurveda” comes from two Indian words: ayur, meaning life and veda, meaning knowledge. Thus, it is described as“knowledge of how to live”. It is believed the Hindus had the highest surgical skill in antiquity.
460 BC Hippocrates, from the island of Greece, is the first to develop a scientific system for medicine. By discovering that poor environmental conditions cause disease, rather than it being a punishment from the gods he earns the title of “The Father of Medicine”.
1 AD Dioscorides, another Greek physician, assembles a vast knowledge of medical information in his work De Materia Medica and is accredited as being the first medical botanist. His work mentions some 600 plants. For fifteen hundred years his Materia medica is the standard reference work on the medicinal application of plants. Aulus Cornelius Celsus writes an encyclopedia of medicine and Galen on Pergamum provides information on infectious disease and pharmacology.
9 AD Herbalism is kept alive by monks cultivating Physic Gardens. Europe’s oldest surviving herbal The Leech Book of Bald, dates from the first half of the tenth century. Medical schools spread throughout Europe and the most famous, at Salerno, is considered the first Western school of medicine.
100 AD Opium is used as a pain-killer.
900 AD al-Razi, an Arab physician, is first to identify smallpox and measles (910 AD).
1500 AD With the advent of the printing press in the mid-fifteenth century classical knowledge of herbs spreads to cloisters to compliment folk medicine. Paracelus, a Swiss physician who is the founder of chemotherapy, promotes The Doctrine of Signatures in Europe. He maintains that the outward
Appearance of a plant gives an indication of the ailments it will treat. At times, the theory is surprisingly accurate (eg. Ginseng) John Gerard published in 1597.
1600 AD The circulation of the blood is discovered by William Harvey in 1628. In 1632, quinine is discovered in cinchona bark. Nicholas Culpeper, publishes his herbal work The Complete Herbal in 1649, and is the last proponent of The Doctrine of Signatures. His decision to publish is because previous herbals are written in Latin and contain information on too many imported herbs (to England) and, therefore, these herbs are difficult to obtain. Nicholas Culpeper enjoys enormous popularity for his books.
1700 AD Carl Linnaeus, the founder of modern botany, develops the precise system of identification of plants and their properties. Although his system has been continually modified, it remains the basis of today’s internationally applicable system. British physician Edward Jenner discovers the principle of vaccination as a preventative measure against smallpox. The study of drugs emerges as a distinct profession.
1800 AD Friedrich Surturner, of Germany, isolates and extracts white crystals from the crude opium poppy to create morphine (still considered to be one of the world’s best analgesics). Similar techniques soon produce aconite from Monkshood, emetine from Ipecacuanha, atropine from Deadly Nightshade, and digitalis from Foxglove.
Salicin, an analgesic and identified as one of the active ingredients in white willow bark is synthesized. In 1899, it is launched into the marketplace as Aspirin by the Bayer company of Germany. Diseases such as Addison’s, Bright’s, Hodgkin’s, Parkinson’s and Graves’ is discovered. The development of the field of bacteriology and the accidental discovery of X-ray as a diagnostic tool also occurs during the nineteenth century.
1900 AD Paul Ehrlich discovers penicillin in 1928. In the 1930's vaccines for many viruses are created. Francis Crick, James Watson and Maurice Wilkins in 1951 discover deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). In the 1970's gene altering appears. The 1980's leads to even more vaccines by use of genetic engineering. There are huge advances in surgical techniques. With extensive research and development literally thousands of pharmaceuticals bring about a virtual revolution in medicine. The last quarter of the twentieth century is what might be termed as “Chemical Medicine” is dominant in Western Society. Public pressure for informed consent regarding pharmaceuticals begins making headway in Western society, primarily caused by the side effects of “the pill” in the 1970's. As the contraindications for chemical medications is acknowledged and with the growth of public awareness to the possible dangers of synthetic or isolated chemicals a resurgence of interest in healthy life-styles, preventative medicine and herbal remedies is slowly released.

While no one is suggesting the clock be turned back and the advances of modern medicine be ignored (we are, after all, enjoying the longest of life-spans ever known) neither should we ignore the wisdom accumulated and found effective for many centuries. However, it may be interesting to speculate where the 21st Century will take us.

Universities are now beginning to require medical students to study at least one course in an “alternative therapy”. Herbalism has gone from a small, innocuous industry to an industry commanding a lot of attention and millions of dollars in growth each year. MD’s are also becoming ND’s. The powerful US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is in a whirlwind, trying to control the sale of these herbal remedies. Canada is attempting to create a new department, separate from drugs or foods. Pharmacies across the Western world are combining the sale of pharmaceuticals with the sale of herbs and their essential oils.

Public interest is intensifying. It seems we can expect that over the next twenty years we will truly have a “complimentary” health care system, rather than an “alternative” system. No longer will there be an “us” and “them” mentality but instead, an incredible accumulation of knowledge and expertise in all areas of human health - providing us with the healthiest conceivable life.

By Katherine Glynn

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