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A 12th-century manuscript of the Hippocratic Oath in Greek, one of the most famous aspects of classical medicine that carried into later eras. The history of medicine is both a study of medicine throughout history as well as a multidisciplinary field of study that seeks to explore and understand medical practices, both past and present, throughout human societies.
The Cambridge Illustrated History of Medicine (2001) excerpt and text search excerpt and text search; Singer, Charles, and E. Ashworth Underwood. A Short History of Medicine (2nd ed. 1962) Watts, Sheldon. Disease and Medicine in World History (2003), 166pp online Archived 26 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine
The Canon of Medicine remained a medical authority for centuries. It set the standards for medicine in Medieval Europe and the Islamic world and was used as a standard medical textbook through the 18th century in Europe. [5] [6] It is an important text in Unani medicine, a form of traditional medicine practiced in India. [7]
All human societies have medical beliefs - birth, death, disease and cures are explained in some manner. Historically, throughout the history of medicine world illness has often been attributed to witchcraft, demons or the will of the gods, ideas that still retain some power, even in 'modern' societies, with faith healing and shrines still common.
Early science and medicine historian Paula Findlen, writing in the Cambridge History of Science: Early Modern Science, calls De materia medica "one of the most successful and enduring herbals of antiquity, [which] emphasized the importance of understanding the natural world in light of its medicinal efficiency", in contrast to Pliny's Natural ...
Hippocrates, known as the "Father of Modern Medicine", [4] established a medical school at Cos and is the most important figure in ancient Greek medicine. [5] Hippocrates and his students documented numerous illnesses in the Hippocratic Corpus , and developed the Hippocratic Oath for physicians, which is still in use today.
The Canon of Medicine introduced the concept of a syndrome as an aid to diagnosis, and it laid out an essential framework for a clinical trial. [20] It was translated into Latin by Gerard de Sabloneta and it was used extensively in European medical schools. [20] [21] It also became the most authoritative text on anatomy until the 16th century. [22]
It is important, however, to note that this rational approach to medicine did not always exist in the ancient Greek medical world, nor was it the only popular method of healing. Along with rational Greek medicine, disease was also thought of as being of supernatural origin, resulting from the gods inflicting punishment or from demonic possession.