A Look Into the Medical Profession

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Recommended: Ancient medical pioneers

1. Introduction

I’m interested in becoming a doctor. I’m not sure what type of doctor, but I hope that this project will help me decide.

2. The History and Development of Medicine

There were many developments in ancient medicine due to the fact that people get injured and get diseases. In prehistoric times, people used herbs as healing agents. When tribes were formed and the caste system enacted, there were shamans or apothecaries who were the healers.

In 700 B.C., there was a medical school in Cnidus that is the first known Greek medical school that started the idea of observing patients. The Greek centers of medical advice, prognosis, and healing were dedicated temples to their healer-god Asclepius. At these shrines, patients would enter a dream-like state of induced sleep known as "enkoimesis" not unlike anesthesia, in which they either received guidance from the deity in a dream or were cured by surgery (Wikipedia). Hippocrates of Kos is known as the “father of modern medicine.” The

Hippocratic Corpus was constructed by Hippocrates and his students. Hippocrates made the Hippocratic Oath that even physicians today use. Hippocrates and his followers are credited for being the first to describe many diseases, including clubbing of the fingers that are sometimes

referred to as Hippocratic fingers. The clubbing of the fingers is an important diagnostic sign in chronic supportive lung disease, lung cancer, and cyanotic heart disease.

Once the Roman Empire fell in Western Europe, medicine changed into a more localized profession. Ancient practices in medicine were altered because of individual observations and experiences. Surgical practices were greatly improved. Rogerius Salernitanus wrote the book “Chirurgia” which ...

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...010.

Cooper, Richard A. Health Affairs. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2010. Web. 4 March

2010.

Bureau of Labor Statistics. United States Department of Labor, 17 December 2009. Web. 4

March 2010.

Student doc: Medical Student’s Resource Guide. Medical Resource Group, 4 March 2010. Web

4 March 2010.

Freedom For All. n.p., 2009. Web. 4 March 2010.

Education-Portal. n.p., n.d. Web. 5 March 2010.

Kaiser Permanente. n.p., 2010. Web. 5 March 2010.

Mee Memorial Hospital. n.p., 2009. Web. 5 March 2010.

The University Of Sint Eustatius School Of Medicine. n.p., 2010. Web. 4 March 2010.

The University Of Michigan Medical School. n.p., 2010. Web. 4 March 2010.

The University Of Texas Medical School at Houston. n.p., 2009. Web. 4 March 2010.

The University of Minnesota. n.p., 2008. Web. 4 March 2010.

UC Davis School of Medicine. n.p., 2010. Web. 4 March 2010.

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