Topic 54. The history of medcine Texts for Reading

1.Read and translate the texts about the development of medicine. Work in pairs.

Indian Surgery

1. proof – доказательство

2. priority to – предшествование

3. honour – честь, уважение

4. to ligate – перевязывать (сосуд)

5. to excise tumours – удалять опухоли

6. to repair – восстанавливать, исправлять

7. hernias – грыжи

8. to inhabit – населять

1. The study of Indian surgical texts is very interesting. In the history of surgery we find proof of the priority of Indian to Hippocratic medicine. Their surgery held a position of honour and was subject of careful study. Different operations are described in the Indian texts. The plastic operations are characteristic of Indian medicine which came into use in the rest of the world only in the late mediaeval period.

2. The Indian physicians knew how the blood vessels were ligated; they performed amputations, excised tumours, repaired hernias. In India medical instruments and methods for using them were known centuries earlier than in Europe. This country was inhabited by an intelligent people; their art, industry and science even in early times had reached a high stage of development.

Medicine in the Middle Ages

3. Man tried to protect health during the Middle Ages. Certain important health methods were used during this period. Epidemics of diphtheria, typhoid, fever, leprosy (проказа), influenza, bubonic plague and other diseases took millions of lives.

4. Leprosy was spread for hundreds of years. This disease was controlled not by medical means. The patient lived in special colonies away from other people. This was a very important advance in public health during this period.

5. During the Middle Ages plague killed many millions of people in Europe. In 1348 the “Black Death” struck Britain: nobody knew how to fight with this disease. The doctors advised people to run away from the affected areas. Everybody agreed that plague was god’s punishment for the sins of men.

Developments of the Middle Ages

6. A very important development during the Middle Ages was the hospital. Hospitals appeared in Ceylon early in the 5^th century B. C. and in India in 260 B.C. Hospitals were founded during the Middle Ages in Italy, France, England, Spain and other European countries. The number of hospital beds was not always an indication of hospital size, usually great beds were used and 4-6 patients were put on one bed.

7. Hospitals were founded to treat the sick people. Another development during the Middle Ages was the foundation of Universities. Many of the great European Universities were founded during the 13 and 14^th centuries. Biological sciences were taught in the universities. Students studied the human body and some diseases.

Rapid scientific advantages

8. Great discoveries were made in the 19^th century. One of them was the discovery of cocaine, which was very effective as a local anaesthetic. Surgeons could inject cocaine into a certain part of the body and deaden (заглушать) the pain in that part during the operation. When the problem of pain was solved, surgeons could carry out long and complicated operations.

9. A very important discovery was made by the French chemist, physicist and bacteriologist Louis Pasteur. We know him as the originator of the “germ (бактерия, микроб) theory” of disease. He discovered fermentation and developed the process of pasteurization (пастеризация). Louis Pasteur produced the theory that disease and infection were caused by germs and he proved that they were spread through the air. He found that germs could be killed in the liquids by heat and the term “pasteurization” was given to the process.

10. Rudolf Virchov became known for his work in cellular pathology, and Herman von Helmholtz for his invention of the ophthalmoscope (офтальмоскоп) in 1850. Lord Joseph Lister introduced antiseptic surgery in 1867, and Wilhelm K. Roentgen discovered X-rays in 1895. He placed his hand in front of the apparatus and saw the rays passed through the hand and cast a shadow of bones on the screen. As these rays were unknown to him, he called them X-rays.