III. The medical practice of standing over a burning fire of ingredients to cure Uterine Prolapse A. How was this practice used? IV. The practice of the proverb “Cleanliness is a part of godliness” A. The ancient civilizations who observed this practice & how this process was used? V. Advancements & current research on these practices A. Urine testing today & Advancements B. Uterine Prolapse treatments today & Advancements C. Cleanliness today & Advancements Introduction: After reading a book that details an ancient doctor and his practices this intrigued me.
Upon researching further I found the practices I researched very exciting. One of the practices I found in the book was the doctor testing patient’s urine. I wanted to find out what was the medicine practices of ancient doctors. I found three intriguing practices Urine testing, Bathing in the Ancient world, ancient practices to treating uterine prolapse. Urine testing was practiced by Ancient Babylonians and other early Middle Eastern cultures. Bathing was practiced by most of the eastern world but it was considered unhealthy to bathe every day in the western part of the world like; Spain, England etc.
The Egyptians attempted early innovations in women studies but much of the things they attempted to fix proved ineffectual. I. A brief summary of the history ancient civilizations and their medicinal practices A. Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, which was concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River. The political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh made the start of a civilization that spanned thousands of years until the last pharaoh Cleopatra.
The people of Ancient Egypt made several major medical discoveries and began treating diseases in a physical manner alongside older spiritual cures. Though much of the advancement in medical knowledge and practice was a side effect of religious ceremonies the effect on public health and knowledge of the human body was tremendous. Fueled by a desire to enter the afterlife Egyptian knowledge of the workings of the body encompassed new areas of medicine ranging from a basic understanding of anatomy to the introduction of some surgical skills.
Some of these medical “advancements” were outlandish especially a way of determining if a women was capable of becoming pregnant the Egyptians the number of times the woman vomited while sitting on a floor covered in beer mash. B. Babylonia was an ancient Acadian speaking state with Middle Eastern origins and cultural regions based in central-southern Mesopotamia, which is in present-day Iraq. It emerged as an independent state circa 1894 BC, the city of Babylon being its capital. It was often involved in rivalry with its fellow Acadian state of Assyria in northern Mesopotamia.
Babylonia became the major power in the region after Hammurabi created an empire out of many of the territories of the former Acadian Empire. The Babylonians like many of their neighboring civilizations were advanced along with contemporary ancient Egyptian medicine, the Babylonians introduced the concepts of diagnosis, prognosis, physical examination, and prescriptions. In addition, the Diagnostic Handbook introduced the methods of therapy and the use of empiricism, logic and rationality in diagnosis, prognosis and therapy.
The text contains a list of medical symptoms and often detailed empirical observations along with logical rules used in combining observed symptoms on the body of a patient with its diagnosis and prognosis. C. The Islamic Golden Age is an historical period lasting until the Mongol conquest of Baghdad in 1258. During this period the Arab world became an intellectual center for science, philosophy, medicine and education. Institutions sprung up and Muslim and non-Muslim scholars sought to translate and gather all the world’s knowledge into Arabic.
Many classic works of would have been lost but were translated into Arabic and Persian and later translated into Turkish, Hebrew and Latin. During this period knowledge gained from the ancient Roman, Chinese, Indian, Persian, Egyptian, Greek, and Byzantine civilizations synthesized and significantly advanced. This knowledge includes medicine the Arab physicians and scholars advanced what was already known and they translated the work from their predecessors so they could make these advancements. D.
Ancient Rome was one of the largest civilizations in the ancient world it began its growth on the Italian Peninsulas as early as the 8th century BC. It was located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered from the city of Rome. In its estimated twelve centuries of existence, Roman civilization shifted from a monarchy to a republic ruled by a small group of people to an increasingly empire ruled by a small group of people. Through conquest and blending of cultures, it came to dominate Southern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa, parts of Northern Europe, and parts of Eastern Europe.
Because of the Empire’s vast extent and long endurance, the institutions and culture of Rome had a profound and lasting influence on the development of language, religion, architecture, philosophy, law, and forms of government in the territory it governed, particularly Europe, and by means of European expansionism throughout the modern world. The romans were also years in advancement with their developments in sewers, running water, and aqueducts. These advancements also reached the field of medicine which were, surprisingly, similar to that of the late nineteenth century.
Ancient Roman medicine was split amongst different specialties, such as internists, ophthalmologists, and urologists, which is similar to modern medicine. All surgical tasks were performed by appropriate specialists. Surgeons used practically the same tools as American doctors did only one hundred years ago. An Ancient Roman doctor’s tool kit included forceps, scalpels, catheters, and even arrow-extractors. The middle ages marked the end of these superior advancements in medicine the medicinal advancements made from the Romans were thrown out because the romans practiced paganism.
Religious beliefs hindered the further study and advancement for a thousand years. E. Ancient Greece had an profound effect on most of the known world included in Ancient Greece is the period of Classical Greece, which flourished during the 5th to 4th centuries BC. Because of conquests by Alexander the Great, the civilization flourished from Central Asia to the western end of the Mediterranean Sea. The Roman Empire was profoundly inspired by the Greeks and ‘copied’ many of the things they invented. The Greeks were also instrumental in providing the foundation of modern Western culture.
The Greeks also laid the foundations for modern Western medicine. During this period, Greek medicine departed from the divine and mystical and moved toward observation and logical reasoning. Greece also produced a number of physicians that were critical for the development of medicine that we know today. These physicians are; Hippocrates, Aristotle, Dioscorides, Pythagoras, Aatemidorus and Galen. Hippocrates is the name most people are familiar with because he came up with the Hippocrates oath which is used today by doctors as a binding code of ethics. II. The medical practice of Urine Testing A.
Urine consists of water and dissolved waste material from what you have been drinking and eating. The kidneys eliminate excess water, salts and minerals, as well as urea from protein digestion, uric acid, creatinine from muscle breakdown, hormone waste and toxins. Also eliminated is urochrome, which is a yellow pigment that comes from the processing of dead blood cells in the liver. The urochrome gives the urine a pale yellow color, which is its normal color. B. Doctors in ancient civilizations such as Babylonia used color, clarity and odor in urine to determine if the patient was ill.
Many different colors of urine meant many different things since the normal color of urine is pale yellow, variations can be an indication of health problems or be the result of certain foods that have been eaten. Clear urine indicates a diet of excess water or diuretics such as coffee or beer, when this excess occurs it results in urine having little or no color. Typically, it is nothing to worry about if it happens occasionally. An excessive amount of sweating could result in the urine becoming a deeper yellow (note that this yellow is not very dark). Also, it is a sign that you have not been drinking enough liquids.
Liver problems or jaundice can cause the urine to become a dark yellow color. Brown urine can an indication of a serious condition. It could be caused by liver disease, hepatitis, melanoma cancer, or copper poisoning. A urinary tract infection, bile problems and certain drugs can cause the urine to turn greenish. Urine that possesses a bluish tint can be caused by a pseudomonas bacterial infection. It can also be an indication of high levels of calcium. Urine that has a reddish tint may be indicative of a bladder infection, kidney stones or bladder stones.
Also, a slight injury to the bladder or kidney can result in bleeding into the urine. If Urine has little clarity this may be indicative of bacteria, blood, sperm, crystals, or mucus. Odor can be determined because urine usually has a slightly “nutty” odor. Some diseases cause a change in the odor of urine. For example, an infection with E. coli bacteria can cause a bad odor, while diabetes or starvation can cause a sweet, fruity odor. C. Let’s say I’ am a physician by the name of Jane and I work in the city of Babylon. I own a booth and have an assistant by the name of Vale.
Every day we open are booth and lines by the hundreds wait outside our booth. We require are potential patients to carry a flask with their urine and upon arriving to our stall I take the urine and pour it into my own flask. I examine the urine by shaking it back and forth and smelling it, examining the clarity and the color. One day we receive a flask of urine from a man. We observe the urine, and find the thick, milky sample of urine suggests gout. III. The medical practice of standing over a burning fire of ingredients to cure Uterine Prolapse A.
The practice of obstetrics and gynecology, as we know it today, is carried out by a highly specialized practitioner who combines both medical and surgical skills with the ultimate goal being to ensure the health of women during both pregnancy and after. The approach to women’s health, however, in the ancient world, particularly Egypt, was somewhat different. Although surgery plays a predominant role in contemporary gynecology, surgical intervention was not recommended in ancient Egypt. Gynecological disorders such as uterine prolapse were treated with medications rather than by manipulation.
It was thought that if the patient stood over a burning fire of ingredients, her uterus would be magically forced back into its normal position. Alternative methods included drinking specially prepared remedies, and smearing oils and aromatic resins on the pubic region. Excessive bleeding, or menorrhagia, was treated by remedies designed “to draw out the blood of the woman” the rationale being that if you were to draw the blood out, the bleeding would stop. IV. The practice of the proverb “Cleanliness is a part of godliness B.
In Europe it was not uncommon for men and women of the aristocracy to wear lice and mouse traps on their bodies, because to immerse oneself bodily into water, (i. e. , to take a bath), was deemed unhealthy. Powdered wigs covered shaved heads due to lice infestations, and heavy perfumes barely covered the pungent smells of unwashed bodies. This and the bad sewage systems led to an infestation of rats and debris. This ultimately led to the bubonic plague outbreak which decimated Europe’s population. In contrast the ancient practice was observed by the cultures of Islam and Japanese cultures.
Unlike their European counterparts the Eastern part of the world practiced bathing religiously and in the main religions of the east like Islam and Buddhism which specifically have guidelines that makes sure its adherents bathed every day. Although, not fully understanding germs and microorganisms the doctor of the golden age of Islam made sure their medical instruments were cleaned unlike their European and later American counterparts. It was not until Florence nightingale in the early 20th century until European countries such as Europe began to see the relationship between cleaning one instruments and the numbers of patients lives saved.
V. Advancements & current research on these practices A. The practice of hygiene has not disappeared if anything it has increased and it has become a social norm to bathe every day and observe the other hygienic rituals such as brushing your teeth and etc. The discovery of Microorganisms (life forms not visible to the naked eye) were first discovered by Anton van Leeuwenhoek in 1675 with the invention of the microscope, and later germs were found. This made the need for sanitation a must because of the direct correlation that scientist saw towards germs and disease. B.
The method the Egyptians used was ineffective and caused more harm than good. Uterine prolapse occurs when pelvic floor muscles and ligaments stretch and weaken, providing inadequate support for the uterus. The uterus then slips down into or protrudes out of a women genital. Standing a women over a burning fire of ingredients does nothing for this disorder. A severe case of uterine prolapse requires a vaginal hysterectomy. During a vaginal hysterectomy, the surgeon detaches the uterus from the ovaries, fallopian tubes and upper female organ, as well as from the blood vessels and connective tissue that support it.
The uterus is then removed through the vagina. It would have been nearly impossible for the Egyptians to try to attempt this without killing or permanently injuring the women. C. Urine testing has not completely disappeared. Urine sampling is still used in sports to test for drugs. However, today we don’t personally look at the urine to determine illnesses. The use of urine test strips is acknowledged as modern screening method in medical practice.
With these non-invasive tests important information on the health status of the patient is rapidly obtained. The urine sample is easily drawn and can immediately be investigated with a test strip. Thus one obtains within minutes a result, which facilitates the decision for further diagnostic and therapeutic action. We use technology to determine what substances is and bacteria are lurking in the urine. I believe modern technology eliminated the need to handle urine directly and be close to it which made the procedure seen above extinct.