Principles of Health Science Unit 1

What did prehistoric people believe caused illness?

Evil Spirits or Gods

What role did herbs play in early healing practices?

Herbs were used as medicine in forms such as poultices?

What is the Latin root of the word herb, and what does it mean?

Herba-meaning plant

What does the term spiritual derive from, and what does it signify?

Spiritual is deriven from the Latin word “spiritus”, signifying breathing or the soul.

What is a poultices, and how was it used in early medicine?

A poultices is crushed herbs for wounds.

What pain-relieving substance is found in willow bark?

Salicin

Define trepanation and explain its purpose in ancient cultures.

Trepanation is a surgical method that includes drilling a hole in the skull, its purpose being to treat head issues or release spirits.

What does the Greek root trypanon mean?

Bone

What archaeological evidence suggests prehistoric people survived trepanation?

Skull healing

Who was Ötzi the Iceman, and what does he reveal about early medicine?

Ötzi the Iceman was a human in prehistoric times who carried medicinal fungus and had tattoos relating to acupuncture, revealing that even in those times they had healing methods.

What medicinal items did Ötzi carry?

Medicinal fungus, an antibiotic.

How did religion influence Egyptian view on illness?

Illness was linked to god’s and spirits, with Egyptians believing in their god of medicine, Imhotep.

Who was Imhotep, and why is he significant in medical history?

Imhotep was known as the god of medicine in Egypt, and he used potions and religious remedies as well as added to medical knowledge.

What does it mean that Imhotep was deified?

He was originally a mortal who got chosen to become a god.

What two major medical texts came from ancient Egypt?

Smith Papyrus and Ebers Papyrus

What type of information was found in the Smith Papyrus?

Practical treatments like stitching and antiseptics.

What did the Ebers Papyrus contain?

Spells and remedies for various ailments.

What is the origin of the word papyrus?

Greek: Papuros

Break down the word antiseptic into prefix and root.

Against|Disease

How did mummification contribute to anatomical knowledge?

We learned from different organ and organ systems that are taken out of the bodies.

What are the four humors in Greek medicine?

Blood, yellow bile, black bile, plegm.

What did Greek physicians believe caused illness?

The imbalance in the 4 humors.

What does the Latin root umor mean?

Fluid

Who was Hippocrates, and what is his significance?

Father of western medicine, emphasized ethics, treatments aimed to restore humoral balance.

What does acute mean, and what is its Latin root?

Acute means sharp, with its Latin root being acutus.

What does chronic mean, and what is its greek root?

Chronic means long time, with its Greek root being Chron-meaning time

What practices did Hippocrates advocate for patient care?

A natural and ethics centered practice

How did Hippocratic medicine different from religious explanations?

They focused more on the natural aspect of things and not spirits and such.

Who was Galen, and what was his contribution to medicine?

Galen of Pergamon was a very valued individual in Rome, contributing through animal dissections and synthesizing Hippocrates ideas.

What types of patients did Galen treat that informed his knowledge?

Gladiators

How long did Galen’s ideas dominate medicine?

Over 1400 years

What public health innovations did the Romans create?

Aqueducts, baths, sanitation systems.

Name three surgical tools used by Roman physicians.

Scalpels, hooks, and saws.

How did medical knowledge change during the Dark Ages?

There was a decline in medical knowledge with people returning to superstition and prayer instead of science.

What role did superstition play in medicine during this period?

Superstition was used moreover than scientific methods.

What caused medicine to regress after the fall of Rome?

Rise of superstition and political instability.

When did the Black Death occur, and how many people died?

1347-1351, killed one third of Europe.

What bacteria caused the Black Death?

Versinia pestis via fleas.

How was the plague spread?

Through fleas and infected rats

What were the symptoms of the bubonic plague?

Fever, buboes, gangrene.

What does the term bubo mean, and where does it come from?

Greek: Boubon, meaning groin swelling.

What treatments were used for plague victims in medieval Europe?

Bloodletting, charms, and religious penance.

Why did many people blame themselves for getting sick?

People believed they had failed god and this was the consequence.

What were alchemists attempting to discover?

The philosopher’s stone

How did alchemists contribute to the development of pharmacology?

By creating early chemical remedies.

In what way were alchemists both mystics and chemists?

They mixed science with mysticism.

What is Qi, and how does it relate to Chinese medicine?

Qi is vital energy or a life force, relating because Chinese medicine focused on a balance of Qi.

What are the principles of Yin and Yang?

Yin is more of darkness, whereas Yang is more of light, showing that if there is an imbalance then illness will arise.

What is the Yellow Emperor’s Classic, and why is it significant?

It is a Chinese writing that emphasized Yin and Yang.

Break down the word acupuncture into its parts.

Acu, meaning needle, and puncture, meaning penetrate

What are the three doshas in Indian Ayurvedic medicine?

Vata, Pitta and Kapha-Wind, fire, and earth.

Who was Shushruta, and what was his contribution to medicine?

A practitioner who did detailed surgical practices and used herbs and lifestyle changes.

How did Ayurveda treat illness differently than Western traditions?

By balancing the 3 doshas

What role did nature and spirit play in Native American healing?

Health was seen as a natural and spiritual balance.

Name 3 herbal remedies used by native american healers.

Willow bark, tobacco, sage

How was Native American medicine communal?

Shamanism was used globally.

What is a shaman, and what role did they play in healing?

An intermediary for spirit and sickness, leading rituals and treatments.

List 3 common shamanic healing practices.

chanting, drumming, herbal remedies.

What is one reason shamanism developed in many different regions?

Because in this time many believed in healing through spirit.

What kinds of materials were used in African traditional medicine?

roots, bark, and animal parts

Why is botanical knowledge important for African healers?

Because they live in nature and need to know what plants are good for healing and which ones can kill you.

What are the two types of healers in ancient Mesopotamian medicine?

Ashipus and Asu

What were the roles of the Ashipu and the Asu?

Ashipu—rituals and spells, Asu—practical healers

What was Hammurabi’s code, and how did it influence medicine?

Physicians held accountable for treatment outcomes, made medicine more risky to go into.

Break down the term malpractice into prefix and root.

Mal, meaning bad or evil, practice, meaning action or custom.

Why was legal accountability important in early Mesopotamian medicine?

So that malpractice wouldn’t occur.

Who was Al Rhazi and what text did he write?

Persian physician, wrote Kitab al-Hawi.

What does Kital al-Hawi mean in English?

Book-comprehensive

What did Al Rhazi ephasize in clinical training?

Careful observation, clinical experience, and experimentation.

What principle did Al Rhazi promote long before germ theory?

Cleanliness in healing wounds and treating infections.

Who was Ibn Sina and what was his most famous book?

Persian physician who wrote The Canon of Medicine.

What does the word Canon mean in the title the Canon of Medicine?

Rule

What idea did Ibn Sina believe about the causes of disease?

That they were contagious and spread through water, soil, and air.

What is the root meaning of the word contagion?

Con-together, tangere-touch.

What did Ibn Sina believe about the causes of diseases?

That they were contagious.

What role did Greek and Roman texts play in Arab-Islamic medicine?

Medical theory came from theses texts from different backgrounds.

What are the four humors in ancient Greek medical theory?

Blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm.

What did physicians believe happened when the humors were imbalanced?

That would lead to illnesses.

What treatments were used to restore balance in the humors?

Bloodletting, purging, diet or lifestyle changes.

What does the term phlegm mean in its Greek root?

inflammation (swelling)

What is the origin of the term melancholia?

Greek-melas, black, khole-bile

Who are the two key historical figures associated with humorism?

Galen and Hippocrates

What elements or emotions were linked with each humor?

Blood (air), Yellow Bile (fire), Black Bile (earth), Phlegm (water)

What role did bloodletting play in humor-based medicine?

It balanced the humors.

What belief system justified the use of purging as treatment?

The theory of the Four Humors.

What is the Latin origin of the word humor?

umor-meaning fluid.

Where did major medical schools emerge during the Arab revival?

Middle East, North Africa, and Spain.

What was the significance of the Salerno Medical School?

First Western university to teach medicine.

What kind of treatments became more common with formal schooling?

Hospital based treatments

What is the origin of the word hospital?

hospes meaning guest/host

What does the Greek word cheirourgia mean?

Surgery

How did formal education shift medicine away from apprenticeships?

By emphasizing theoretical scientific methods and knowledge.

What regions preserved and expanded classical medical texts?

Middle East, North Africa, and Spain

Why was the development of disease-specific wards important?

That way more people could be treated with hospital methods.

Who was Andreas Vesalius and what did he publish?

He was an anatomist and performed dissections on human cadavers.

What is the full title of Vesalius’s anatomical text?

De Humani Corporis Fabrica

What does De Humani Corporis Fabrica translate to?

On the fabric of a human body

What was revolutionary about Vesalius’s use of human dissection?

He emphasized direct observation via dissection, and in doing so expanded on concepts experts like Galen couldn’t do.

Whose anatomical mistakes did Vesalius correct?

Galen’s

What is the Latin root of the word corpus?

Body