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History of Healing
A Medical Exhibit
History of Healing
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History of Healing: A Medical Exhibit

This collection of 100 is filled with the most influential medical texts and curated from our extensive collections of books and medical journals which illustrate the history of medicine, health, fitness and biology. It tells the story of mankind's need to heal and understand disease and how it affects populations. The greatest Ancient Greek and Roman philosophers' writings, esteemed medical journals, medical canons, and history of medicine, are included, all digitally remastered. In truth, ancient medical texts have almost all been lost to history. The books, journals and manuscripts in our collections celebrates the history of healing, medical practitioners and advocates, and the countless precious scribes who wrote down this important foundation of knowledge so that it could be passed on to others. Our collections draw a detailed picture of the evolution and migration of medical knowledge that continues to influence modern medicine and other healing arts today. The exhibit is accompanied by books about the world history of medicine and its evolution from superstition and magic to tested theories.
Ancient to Medieval Medicine
Ancient to Medieval Medicine
The word is derived from the Latin term “Ars Medicina,” or the “medical art.” Healing and medicine are characterized by the diagnosis, prognosis, physical examination, medical prescriptions and the prevention of disease: “A History of Healing: A Medicine Exhibit” and the book archive that accompanies it, features historic writings ranging from traditional and modern medicine from all over the globe: the Greeks, Chinese, Roman, Mesopotamian, Indian and Egyptian. 

ANCIENT MEDICINE, THE BEGINNING OF A NEW SCIENCE
Ancient Medicine is regarded by historians to span from years 8000-500 BC. The first known and recorded medical text is the Edwin Smith Medical Papyrus approximate date of 1500 BC, which is believed to be a copy of a text written in 3000 BC. Books written about the translations of this and other medical papyri are, even in modern times, a rich source of sophisticated observations of the body, its organs, functions and disease. An especially comprehensive edition in two volumes were written by Richard Caton titled, I-Em-Hotep and Ancient Egyptian Medicine:  Prevention of Valvular Disease. Published in 1904, and digitally remastered, these books perfectly represent the history of Egyptian Medicine and medical learning. There are a great deal of works in the many collections we house (quickly accessible in the Collections Galleries below) that show the breadth of the independent development of ancient medicine in different parts of the world, during the same ancient era. However, Egypt differs from these other ancient civilizations such as China, India, Greece, Roman Empire, and the Mesopotamians because the Egyptians had a public health care system for the lives of their civilians (not to mention their deaths as well with their comprehensive embalming and funerary plans for persons of status (Egyptian Book of the Dead, Sir E.A. Wallice Budge). However, in other parts of the globe, healers and practitioners were not part of a state system, but were independent healers whose reputations were built on word of mouth.  Readers can find out more about ancient medicine, by delving into such classics, as: On Ancient Medicine by Hippocrates as translated from Greek by Francis Adams, An Epitome of the History of Medicine, Second Edition (Roswell Park, 1899), Studies in the Medicine of Ancient India, Part 1 (August Hoernle, 1907), Medical Men in the Time of Christ (Robert Willson, 1910) and Outlines of Greek and Roman Medicine (Elliott, 1914).  Naturally, veterinary study had a parallel evolution and went hand-in-hand with that of the human healing arts.

THE PROMISE TO HEAL
Modern Medicine “as a rational science” was founded by Hippocrates, a Classical Greek physician, who started the first school dedicated to medical instruction. He is also considered to be the “Father of Western Medicine.”  According to The Genuine Works of Hippocrates, early Greek Philosophy came from Asia.  Hippocrates system of healing was based on “[…] experience and common sense, rather than blind empiricism […].” He was opposed to the School of Knidos system of diagnosis and treatment, which concentrated on the disease, rather than the patient. Because of this, Hippocrates prescribed lifestyle modifications to his patients, in addition to oral and topical medicines (The Genuine Works of Hippocrates, Hippocrates). Modern physicians and other healthcare professionals swear the Hippocratic Oath as a promise to practice medicine honestly and ethically. According to the World Health Organization Readers' Forum: Is the Hippocratic Oath an Anachronism?, this bond that doctors make to their teachers (and society) compels medical students and physicians to heal all patients ("World Health Organization: World Health Forum, 1995; Volume 16 No. 1, Year 1995, Pages 77-85: Readers' Forum ; Is the Hippocratic Oath an Anachronism?", Spyros G. Marketos). Hippocrates elevated medicine from the level of superstition to logical observation and trial. He also spoke out against suppressing patient’s needs because of political correctness. Hippocrates believed that doctors are natural protectors of individuals’ right to good “equilibrium” and that everyone had the right to healthcare.


MODERN MEDICINE 


ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
The treatment of illnesses appears to be cyclical. For instance, in ancient India and Babylonia—where and when the first documentation of medicinal techniques were first recorded—healers used plant and animal-based remedies (as well as superstition and magic) in order to treat the sick. The Greek ideal was Homeopathy: the concept that “the body can heal itself.” This did not truly popular until 18th-Century Germany when it became—as scientific studies progressed to include laboratory-borne pharmaceuticals—the most sought-after and trusted form of medicine in industrialized nations. However, there was a growing trend to move back into naturopathy, zootherapies and midwifery again, as the bad effects of synthetic drugs become more realized. It is agreed among physicians that there is a general correlation between industrialization and the rising syndromic complexities of diseases.  Ultimately, medicine and healing are always practiced with the intention of maintaining and establishing balance within the body and mind.... To read further on the application of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine, our World Health Collection includes a vast amount of World Health Organization Publications  n the subject  ( WHO Report #4, Lin Lin et al).

According to the World Health Organization:  Ayurvedic Medicine and Primary Health Care, Ayurvedic medicine is concerned with maintaining equilibrium in the body.  It recognizes three “humours” vata (air), pitta (fire) and kapha (water), which were believed to influence the nervous, metabolic and digestive systems as well as the body’s cellular functions.  Any imbalance in these systems, even the effects of the seasons, lead to illness.  Ayurvedic medicine is believed to originate from the Yajur-Veda, which is said to originate from the Indo-Europeans who migrated into the Indian Subcontinent. 

The establishment of formal institutional education in India first began at Banaras National Hindu University in 1928, teaching Ayurvedic medicine.  In 1948, the Chopra Committee at the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine made a recommendation for States to have statutory responsibility to educate and practice more traditional aspects of ayurvedic medicine.  Today, some health policy makers suggest increasing collaboration between hospitals attached to colleges, and traditional healers from villages (World Health Organization:  Ayurvedic Medicine and Primary Health CareWorld Health Forum, 1982; Volume 3 No. 1, Year 1982, Pages 90-94: Ayurvedic Medicine and Primary Health Care, Rex Fendall). 

According to “Traditional Medicine and Health Care Coverage," state sanctioned healthcare has technological and organizational assumptions about modern medicine that views traditional medicine as a “useful source of manpower to increase the coverage of official health services."  Traditional practitioners have been wary of any relationship with “official” health care because of past neglect and discrimination. They distrust “official” medicine for trying to absorb them into a foreign health paradigm (Traditional Medicine and Health Care Coverage, Robert H. Bannerman et al).  Today, there are four ways that relationships between official and traditional health practitioners have emerged.

Monopolistic - Mainstream medicine dominates the right to practice medicine.  
Tolerant - Traditional practitioners can practice but cannot receive status as Medical Doctors.  
Parallel - Practitioners of allopathic and traditional healthcare operate separate but equal systems. 
Integrated  - Modern and traditional medicine are merged through medical education and jointly practiced through unique health services  (Traditional Medicine and Health Care Coverage, Robert H. Bannerman et al).

Reiki and Quantum Healing are gaining important ground in treating the sick.  


Works Cited
Budge, Sir E.A. Wallis.  The Egyptian Book of the Dead.  London:  Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Company, Limited, 1898.

Caton, Richard.  I-Em-Hotep and Ancient Egyptian Medicine:  Prevention of Valvular Disease.  Volume 1.  London:  C.J. Clay, 1904.  Reproduction Date:  2009.

Chand, Devi. The Yajur-Veda.  Trans. Devi Chand, M.A.  Hoshiarpur: V.V.R.I. Press, 1959.

Elliott, James Sands, M.D., Ch.B.  Outlines of Greek and Roman Medicine.  New York:  William Wood and Company, 1914.  Reproduction:  2010.

Fendall, Rex. "World Health Organization: Ayurvedic Medicine and Primary Health Care; Volume 3 No. 1, Year 1982, Pages 90-94: Ayurvedic Medicine and Primary Health Care."  World Health Forum. Volume 3,  Issue 1.  Geneva:  World Health Organization, 1982. 

Genuine Works of Hippocrates, The.  Ed. and Trans. Francis, Adams.  New York:  W. Wood and Company, 1849.

Hippocrates.  (n.d.)  On Ancient Medicine.  Trans. by Francis Adams.  (n.p.)  Reproduced:  2002.  Blackmask Online.  Web.

"Hippocratic Oath." World Heritage Encyclopedia.  WorldLibrary.org.  Web.  2014. 

Hoernle, August Frederich Rudolf.  Studies in the Medicine of Ancient India, Part 1.  Oxford:  The Clarendon Press, 1907.  Reproduction:  2010.

Marketos, Spyros G. "World Health Organization : World Health Forum, 1995 ; Volume 16 No. 1, Year 1995, Pages 77-85: Readers' Forum ; Is the Hippocratic Oath an Anachronism?"   World Health Forum. Volume 16, Issue 1.   1995.

"Medicine."  World Heritage Encyclopedia.  WorldLibrary.org.  Web.  2014.  

Park, Roswell.  An Epitome of the History of Medicine, Second Edition.  Philadelphia:  The P.A. Davis Company, 1899.

Traditional Medicine and Health Care Coverage.  Eds. Robert H. Bannerman, John Burton and Ch'en Wen-Chieh.  Geneva: World Health Organization, 1983. 

Clinical Study on 103 Inpatients Undergoing Therapy with Integrated Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine.  Eds.  Lin Lin, Han Yun, Yamg Zhimin, Liu Weisheng, Zhang Minzhou, Tang Guanghua, Xu Yinji.  Issue 9241546433, Report 4.  Geneva:  World Health Organization, 2004.  Reproduction:  2005

Willson, Robert N.  Medical Men in the Time of Christ.  Philadelphia:  The Sunday School Times Company, 1910.  Reproduction:  2010.

Medical Collections
Medical Collections
Ayurvedic medicine influenced Hippocratic medicine, which prescribed healing through maintaining equilibrium within the body. Although “official medicine” allowed for mass access to health care and technological innovations, there have been debates about the role of traditional healers in modern health.  The History of Healing: A Medicine Exhibit demonstrates that as health problems, such as cancer, continues to evolve, it is in humanity’s benefit to validate knowledge of past healing traditions just as much as the organizational and technological means of modern health care systems.

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