History of Medical Miracles and the Lives Behind Them

Harry L. Munsinger J.D. Ph.D.

Description

Ever wondered who developed X-rays, insulin, or antibiotics? Want to know about famous scientists? The History of Medical Miracles answers these questions and many more.
The History of Medical Miracles and The Lives Behind Them uses biographies of physicians and scientists to explain the evolution of medical practice from its primitive beginnings to modern scientific medicine. It explores ancient Greek and Roman medicine, human anatomy, blood circulation, microbiology, vaccination, anesthetics, antiseptic surgery, germ theory, X-rays, insulin, penicillin, the structure of DNA, the Human Genome Project, and gene editing through the biographies of medical and scientific pioneers.

Sujets

• Médecine
• Médecine Générale
• Miracle
• Projet génome humain
• History
• Medical history
• Human Genome Project
• Medical

Informations

• Publié par: Archway Publishing
• Date de parution: 20 octobre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781665731409
• Langue: English

Extrait

HISTORY of MEDICAL MIRACLES and the LIVES BEHIND THEM




Harry L. Munsinger, J.D., Ph.D.










Copyright © 2022 Harry L. Munsinger, J.D., Ph.D..

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.



Archway Publishing
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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-6657-3139-3 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-3140-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022918456



Archway Publishing rev. date: 10/20/2022



Contents
Preface

Chapter 1 Early Greek Medicine: Hippocrates
Chapter 2 Early Roman Medicine: Galen
Chapter 3 Human Anatomy: Andreas Vesalius
Chapter 4 Circulation: William Harvey
Chapter 5 Animalcules: Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek
Chapter 6 Vaccination: Edward Jenner
Chapter 7 Anesthetics: William Morton
Chapter 8 Antiseptic Surgery: Joseph Lister
Chapter 9 Germ Theory: Robert Koch
Chapter 10 X-Ray: Wilhelm Roentgen
Chapter 11 Insulin: Frederick Banting
Chapter 12 Penicillin: Alexander Fleming
Chapter 13 Structure Of Dna: James Watson
Chapter 14 The Human Genome Project: Charles Delisi
Chapter 15 Gene Editing: Jennifer A. Doudna

Conclusion
Endnotes



Preface
Ancient Egyptian Medicine
Early Egyptian physicians believed human diseases were caused by angry gods and prescribed magic, mysticism, and rituals to cure illnesses. 1 They thought evil spirits blocked vessels in the body that carry blood, air, semen, mucus, and tears to various organs, causing disease and death. Egyptian physicians used laxatives to unblock the digestive system and prayers to open blood flow to the brain and body. They believed the heart was the center of all life-giving channels, but confused arteries, veins, the intestinal tract, and nerves because Egyptian physicians didn’t understand human anatomy. They believed that diseases are caused by angry gods and that incantations, aromas, prayers to statues of the gods, and live animal offerings would cure patients’ illnesses. Ancient religious rituals may have actually made some patients feel better due to the placebo effect because believing that prayers to angry gods can cure illness releases natural opioids in the brain that relieve pain. 2 Early Chinese physicians developed a different theory to explain human illness.
Ancient Chinese Medicine
Early Chinese medicine was based on Confucian philosophy and organized the causes of illnesses around polar opposites such as hot-cold, wet-dry, and light-dark, and cycles such as summer, fall, winter, and spring or birth, growth, and death. These primitive Chinese medical theories were based on superstition rather than science and used the complementary concepts of yin and yang to explain sickness and health. 3 Chinese doctors believed vital energy flowed through veins that connect to different organs and that qi, a vital life force, flows through the body and maintains health, but can cause disease if it becomes unbalanced by changes in yin and yang. They treated illness by attempting to restore the balance between internal organs and the external elements of earth, fire, water, wood, and metal by prescribing rituals, dietary changes, exercise, and bathing.
Men and women were treated differently by early Chinese doctors. A sick Chinese male could be examined personally by a doctor, who would touch the patient’s skin, palpate his organs, and ask him questions. In contrast, when a Chinese woman fell ill, a doctor had to communicate about her illness through a male family member and use a “doctor’s lady” (a female statue) to learn the location of her symptoms. A Chinese doctor was forbidden to touch or observe a naked female patient, so a male family member would point to the location of her pain on a “doctor’s lady” and describe her symptoms. 4 Chinese physicians used four procedures to diagnose an illness: looking, listening, smelling, and touching. Centuries passed before physicians began to apply science to the study of sickness and health, but once they did, the practice of medicine began improving and led to more effective treatments for diseases.
The Dawn of Scientific Medicine
The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, who practiced medicine around 400 BC, believed human illnesses are caused by natural factors and could be cured by surgery or proper medical treatment rather than prayer and magic. 5 His scientific approach to disease was extended by Galen, another Greek physician who lived and worked in the Roman Empire around AD 160. 6 In the sixteenth century, Andres Vesalius began the systematic study of the human anatomy; 7 and a century later, William Harvey demonstrated how blood circulates in the human body. 8 Antonie van Leeuwenhoek created advanced magnifying lenses and founded the field of microbiology because of his curiosity. 9 At the end of the eighteenth century, Edward Jenner discovered a vaccine for smallpox after he noticed that milkmaids who had contracted cowpox were immune to smallpox. 10 During the nineteenth century, general anesthesia, sterile surgery, the germ theory of disease, and X-rays were developed by William Morton, 11 Joseph Lister, 12 Robert Koch, 13 and Wilhelm Roentgen. 14
Modern Medicine
The golden age of medicine began in the early twentieth century with the extraction of insulin from animal pancreases by Frederick Banting, 15 the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming, 16 and the modeling of DNA by John Watson and Francis Crick. 17 In the twenty-first century, teams of scientists from around the world mapped the human genome, 18 and Jennifer Doudna found a way to insert new DNA into a human gene, creating a tool able to change human evolution forever. 19
Assuming the current path of scientific discovery continues, effective treatments for cancer, dementia, and other life-threatening diseases may be found in the near future. However, there is no assurance research will continue to produce advances in the treatment of human disease. Medical miracles happen in unpredictable ways and require advanced preparation, hard work, and scientific insight. Nature is unpredictable, germs mutate in dangerous ways, and they become resistant to antibiotics, so medical researchers must constantly struggle to maintain human health and advance the treatment of disease.



Chapter 1
EARLY GREEK MEDICINE: HIPPOCRATES

H ippocrates practiced medicine in Greece around 400 BC and was the first physician to show that illnesses are caused by natural factors rather than angry gods. He is called the Father of Medicine, and all modern physicians pledge to follow his ethical example by taking the Hippocratic oath. His most important contributions to medicine were denying that diseases are triggered by evil spirits and proposing that illnesses are caused by natural forces and can be treated by studying symptoms, diagnosing diseases, recording which treatments work for various illnesses, and applying scientific methods to medicine.
Evidence about Greek medicine before Hippocrates comes from ancient writings and fossilized human remains, which show the effects of diseases and treatments administered by early physicians. Prior to Hippocrates, the diagnosis and treatment of diseases were based on religious rituals rather than careful observation and scientific thinking. 20 The number of priest-physicians and surgeons practicing in ancient Greece is difficult to estimate because no accurate historical records are available. Historians have assumed that small Greek towns, which contained fewer than two thousand souls, probably had no physicians available to care for sick and elderly patients because early Greek doctors practiced in large cities such as Athens. 21 A few ancient Greek physicians traveled around the countryside, practicing medicine in villages and small towns, but most preferred to work in cities where they could maintain an office and see patients near their homes rather than having to travel in all kinds of weather over poorly maintained roads to visit their patients in distant areas. Greek physicians practiced medicine and surgery.
Ancient Surgery
Operations were performed by ancient Greek surgeons using instruments made of flint, stone, or shell, making the surgical operations dangerous and painful. Early Greek surgeons amputated damaged or diseased areas of the body by cutting out injured or diseased tissue, sawing off limbs, or drilling into the skull in an effort to cure a sick patient. Ancient Greek surgeons believed illnesses were caused by evil spirits being trapped in the patient’s head, so they may have cut a hole in the skull to allow the harm