History of Healthcare

Early Beginnings Primitive human begins – no electricity, few tools, and poor shelter. Predators Superstitious Exorcise

4000 BC – 3000 BC Primitive times Illness and diseases were a punishment from the Gods Tribal witch doctors treated illness with ceremonies Herbs and plants used as medicines (morphine and digitalis) Trepanation or trephining

Herbs and plants as medicine Digitalis Comes from foxglove plant Given in pill form, IV, or injection Strengthen or slow heartbeat Quinine Comes from bark of chinchona tree Controls fever, relieves muscle spasms, and helps prevent malaria

Herbs and plants as medicine Belladonna and Atropine Made from poisonous nightshade plant Relieve muscle spasm (GI) Morphine Made from opium poppy Relieves severe pain Addicting and used when nothing else will help.

Medicine in ancient times Accurate Observation

3000 BC – 300 BC Ancient Egyptians Physicians were priests Bloodletting or leeches used as medical treatment

Egyptians Earliest people to keep accurate records Called upon gods to heal them Learned to identify certain diseases Used medicines to heal diseases Learned the art of splinting fractures

1700 BC – AD 220 Ancient Chinese Used therapies such as acupuncture Believed to cure the body you must nourish the spirit.

1200 BC –200 BC Ancient Greeks First to observe the human body and the effects of disease – led to modern medical sciences. Believed illness is a result of natural causes Used therapies such as massage, art therapy, and herbal treatment

Greeks First to study the causes of diseases Kept records on what they observed and what they thought caused diseases Helped eliminate superstition because of research Found that some diseases were caused by lack of sanitation

Greeks Aqueducts Sewers Public baths with filtering systems Beginning of public health and sanitation Did not believe that supernatural forces caused disease

Note: During ancient times, religious customs did not allow bodies to be dissected.

Hipprocates (ca. 469-377 B.C.) Father of medicine Based his knowledge of anatomy and physiology on observation of the external body. Kept notes of signs and symptoms of diseases

Hipprocates (ca. 469-377 B.C.) Found that disease was not caused by supernatural forces Wrote standard of ethics called the oath of Hipprocates.

753 BC – AD 410 Ancient Romans Established first hospital (caring for soldiers in their homes) First public health and sanitation systems by building sewers and aqueducts

Romans First to organize medical care M.D.’s and equipment traveled with armies Dr.’s kept ill room in house Beginning of hospitals Roman government paid physicians Death mask

AD 400 – AD 800 Dark Ages Began after the fall of the Roman Empire Emphasis on saving the soul and study of medicine was prohibited Monks and priests treated patients with prayer

Dark Ages (A.D. 400-800) Middle Ages (A.D. 800-1400) Roman empire conquered For 1,000 years medicine was practiced only in convents & monasteries. Custodial care Herbal mixes

AD 800 – AD 1400 Middle Ages Renewed interest in medical practices of Greek and Romans Bubonic Plague killed 75% of population in Europe and Asia

AD 1350 – AD 1650 Renaissance Dissection of body led to increased understanding of anatomy and physiology Invention of printing press allowed medical knowledge to be shared

Renaissance (A.D. 1350-1650) Rebirth of learning Developments Dissection Once was prohibited by religion

Current and future research AIDS CA Diabetes Cure for genetic disorders Improved treatment for colds and arthritis Isolation of gene that causes depression Use of electronics that help disabled people walk Nutritional therapy to decrease # of cases of schizophrenia

Medical Ethics Medicine will always have to determine if practice is or isn’t ethical. What is the single most effective way to prevent or reduce infection?