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A DESCRIPTIVE OUTLINE of the HISTORY of MEDICINE from ITS EARLIEST DAYS to 600 B.C.* by JAMES F

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A DESCRIPTIVE OUTLINE of the HISTORY of MEDICINE from ITS EARLIEST DAYS to 600 B.C.* by JAMES F A DESCRIPTIVE OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE FROM ITS EARLIEST DAYS TO 600 B.C.* By JAMES F. BALLARD BOSTON, MASS. N 1891 Dr. James Finlayson of Glasgow medicine. These two exhibits were not of gave the first of his so-called biblio- the same type as Finlayson’s demonstrations, graphical demonstrations. He believed which were primarily historical lectures illus- that a better understanding of the tiated by texts and supplemented by sources history of medicine could be had if the of information for further study. Istudent could be brought into direct contact Two exhibits6 arranged by Dr. E. C. with the original texts and sources of informa- Streeter, one on Vesalius shown at the tion. He selected for his first demonstration American Medical Association meeting at a number of anatomical works containing Atlantic City in 1914 and the other on many curious illustrations. Then in succes- infections shown at the American Medical sion he gave an evening each to a discussion Association meeting at Boston in 1921, of physiognomic diagnosis, Hippocrates, deserved and received the highest commen- Galen, Celsus, ancient Egyptian medicine, dation. The last was a model of its kind. and the Alexandrian School.1 Dr. Finlay- Pagel6 divides the history of medicine son’s method was to show the actual texts, into three main groups: Ancient, to 130 read extracts from them, commenting on a .d .; middle period, 130 to 1500 a .d .; mod- the importance of the period or individual ern period, 1500 a .d . to date. Ancient he under discussion, and finally to show the subdivides into: Prehistoric, the medicine sources of information. of primitive peoples from the beginning Dr. F. H. Garrison2 calls attention to of the world to 4500 b.c .; medicine of the the exhibits of Dr. J. S. Billings3 and of older civilizations, 4500 b.c . to 600 b.c .; Dr. George Dock.4 Dr. Billings exhibited classical period, Greek and Roman, 900 b.c . forty-four rare medical books dating from to 130 A.D. 1470 to 1848, arranged in chronological I shall confine myself in this paper to order but without particular reference to the first two subdivisions, first taking up their historical importance. Dr. Dock primitive medicine. exhibited thirty-seven works selected from his own library, mostly of the modern PREHISTORIC PERIOD7 period, and relating chiefly to clinical According to Neuburger: *Read before the Boston Medical History Club, Jan. 15, 1923, in connection with an exhibition of If . purposeful, instinctive actions texts, source books, pictures and other material which serve to mitigate pain or irritation may illustrating the subject. be considered as medical in the widest sense of the term, being as they are outward manifesta- a keen appetite, had immediately taken food tions of the healing power of nature, then may in the first days of their illness, while others, medicine be considered not only to extend back feeling a nausea, had abstained from it; and the to the childhood of the human race, but to exist disorder of those who had abstained was more as animal medicine. alleviated; also some, in the paroxysm of a fever, had taken food; some a little before it Heated animals refresh themselves in came on, and others after its remission; and it cold water, warm their stiffened limbs in succeeded best with those who had done it the sun, and destroy irritating parasites. after the disappearance of the fever. In the same Cats and dogs lick their wounds, dogs eat manner, some used a full diet in the beginning of grass to promote vomiting. Monkeys seek a disease; others were abstemious, and those to check the flow of blood by application grew worse who had eaten plentifully. These of the paw, and are adept in the extraction and like instances daily occurring, diligent men of foreign bodies, such as thorns. The observed attentively what method generally answered best, and afterwards began to pre- medicine of animals, moreover, is not con- scribe the same to the sick. This was the rise fined to self-help, but extends at times to of the art of medicine, which by the frequent help of others, particularly when dealing recovery of some and the death of others, dis- with the young. Similar primitive actions tinguishes what is pernicious from what is salu- may be considered to have formed also the tary; and when the remedies were found, men foundation of human medicine. began to discourse about the reasons of them. The first lessons came to primitive man by Medicine was not invented in consequence of injuries, accidents, bites of beasts and their reasoning, but theory was sought for after serpents. The experiments of nature made the discovery of medicine. clear to him the relation of cause and effect. Certain simple operations of very early In the study of primitive medicine one is greatly helped by observation of the medi- date show traces of purposeful intelligence: cine of those races which even now lead an drawing foreign bodies (thorns) from the existence analogous to that of primitive skin with the fingers, laying cooling leaves man (aborigines). upon injured places, and smearing the skin Modern anthropologists claim that both with clay as a protection against cold, religion and medicine had their origin in insects and surface wounds. magic. To primitive man magic was the Surgery dates from the time when instru- setting in motion of a spiritual power to ments of daily use were used as means of help or hurt the individual. Primitive man healing. In earliest times flints, thorns, recognized many of these superhuman splinters of wood, shells, fishbones, pointed agencies relating to disease, such as the bones, teeth and horns could be used for spirits of the dead, either human or animal, the extraction of foreign bodies, the opening independent disease demons or individuals of abscesses, and with them bloodletting who might act by controlling the spirits and scarification could be performed. Tre- or agencies of disease. The evidences of phining of the skull was performed as far magical therapeusis which have descended back as the early stone age. Recent re- to our time consist of amulets from the early searches have added much to our knowledge stone age and from the early bronze age, of the diseases and injuries of ancient man. the former consisting of pieces of bone Celsus (53 B.C.-7 a .d .) in his “De medicina trephined from the skull after death and libri octo,” describes the growth of rational carried on a string, the latter of animals’ medicine as follows: teeth, weasel-bones, cats’ claws, birds’ Medicine, even in its infancy, was not deduced windpipes, snakes’ vertebrae, etc. The amu- from these inquiries, but from experiments; for let is the oldest form of prophylaxis against of the sick who had no physicians, some, from disease and originated in the belief that the possession of portions of another body code is engraved on a monument which was endowed the possessor with their functions. found in December, 1901, and January, 1902, From the original devouring of organs was on the Acropolis of Susa. It is a block of derived the simpler custom of wearing on black diorite, nearly eight feet high, broken the body portions of animals, particularly into three pieces which fortunately were animals immune against poisons (such as easily rejoined. On the obverse is a bas- spiders) and polished or odoriferous objects. relief of King Hammurabi receiving the laws from the Sun God; under this relief THE PERIOD OF THE OLDER arc engraved sixteen columns of text, four CIVILIZATIONS and a half of which form the prologue. BABYLONIAN-ASSYRIAN8 There were originally live more columns In considering this period we must on the obverse, but these were cut off by remember that the Babylonian-Assyrian- the Elamitic conqucior. There are twenty- Sumcrian, Egyptian, Hindu and Chinese eight columns on the reverse, the last live of civilizations were practically contemporane- which form the epilogue. ous. Authorities differ as to the date of the Hammurabi was the sixth king of the first beginning of civilization, but all agree that dynasty of Babylon and reigned for fifty- it was between 4500 and 4000 b .c . five years, about 2250 b .c . He was a great The Sumerians founded Babylon about soldier and a pious, god-fearing king. He 4500 b .c . They possessed originally a cursive codified the existing laws, that the strong cuneiform writing, running from left to might not oppress the weak, that they right. About 3800 b .c . they were conquered should give justice to the orphan and by the Babylonians and Assyrians, but their widow, and in general, that wrong be made writing, speech and culture endured for right. This code shows the importance centuries after their fall. The science of attached to the fees of physicians as early Babylon and Assyria reached a much higher as 2250 b .c . and that medicine even then stage than that of Egypt. was looked upon as a responsible profession. Medicine was secondary to religion. In 1849 there was discovered on the site Disease was due to evil spirits or demons. of Nineveh a great library of some thirty There were different incantations for differ- thousand clay tablets gathered by King ent diseases and medicinal remedies accom- Asurbanipal of Assyria (668-626 b .c .). From panied the incantations. The first recorded some eight hundred medical tablets most observations on anatomy are in connection of our knowledge of Assyro-Babylonian with the art of divination. The liver was medicine is derived, much of it translated used for this purpose, that of the sheep by Morris Jastrow.
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