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fandomhigh2010-02-10 12:17 pm
notsobadatall.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2010-02-10 12:17 pm
Entry tags:
History of Medicine
Nick did not really follow the radio much. That was why, say, if someone had caught last weeks broadcast and picked up on something, or, say, had a few questions, Nick might blink and move the topic along.
That said, they had work to do today.
"We're going to take a step back instead of forward today and deal with Ancient Babylon. Babylon is the step between some of the Greek concepts and their Egyptian forefathers.
"Most of the information we have about their practices comes from the library of Asshurbanipal at Nineveh. Most of them have survived, though a number of key texts were lost during a fire in the 60s."
Which he'd been a personal attendant to, thank you, Lucien LaCroix.
"Anyway, as I said, the Babylonians introduced the concepts of diagnosis, prognosis, physical examination, and prescriptions like the Egyptians, but like the Greeks also employed empiricism, logic, and rationality in diagnosis, prognosis, and here's a new one... therapy. They did have some primitive forms of physical therapy. They still believed in the mysticism that the Greeks largely dispelled, but they also preformed observation, testing... everything we've discussed. More importantly, though, there are two key concepts I'd like to bring up from Ancient Babylonian medicine.
"The first is that they acknowledged and understood that individual organs could malfunction or fail, bringing about disease. Not that a system was out of balance or that a spirit had taken hold of the person, but that the individual pieces inside of someone could 'break' without there being an outside force visible to them. It sounds very small, but consider the ramifications.
"The second is part of the law code, the famous Code of Hammurabi from whence we get 'an eye for an eye'. There are several texts showing the liability of physicians who performed surgery. These laws state that a doctor was to be held responsible for surgical errors and failures. Since the laws only mention liability in connection with "the use of a knife," it can be assumed that doctors were not liable for any non-surgical mistakes or failed attempts to cure an ailment."
[ocd up!]
That said, they had work to do today.
"We're going to take a step back instead of forward today and deal with Ancient Babylon. Babylon is the step between some of the Greek concepts and their Egyptian forefathers.
"Most of the information we have about their practices comes from the library of Asshurbanipal at Nineveh. Most of them have survived, though a number of key texts were lost during a fire in the 60s."
Which he'd been a personal attendant to, thank you, Lucien LaCroix.
"Anyway, as I said, the Babylonians introduced the concepts of diagnosis, prognosis, physical examination, and prescriptions like the Egyptians, but like the Greeks also employed empiricism, logic, and rationality in diagnosis, prognosis, and here's a new one... therapy. They did have some primitive forms of physical therapy. They still believed in the mysticism that the Greeks largely dispelled, but they also preformed observation, testing... everything we've discussed. More importantly, though, there are two key concepts I'd like to bring up from Ancient Babylonian medicine.
"The first is that they acknowledged and understood that individual organs could malfunction or fail, bringing about disease. Not that a system was out of balance or that a spirit had taken hold of the person, but that the individual pieces inside of someone could 'break' without there being an outside force visible to them. It sounds very small, but consider the ramifications.
"The second is part of the law code, the famous Code of Hammurabi from whence we get 'an eye for an eye'. There are several texts showing the liability of physicians who performed surgery. These laws state that a doctor was to be held responsible for surgical errors and failures. Since the laws only mention liability in connection with "the use of a knife," it can be assumed that doctors were not liable for any non-surgical mistakes or failed attempts to cure an ailment."
[ocd up!]
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"First, we have the idea of individual organs and their malfunction. How do you think they came to that? Why do you think it was the Babylonians who might have discovered this? And why, if the Babylonians had found so, did the Greek philosophies of medicine ignore this component?"
"Second: medical malpractice. How do you feel about the concept, it's importance, and about how it was implemented in Hammurabi's code?"
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Nick
OOC
Ahh, the joys of working at home.
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He scribbled a few notes down but mostly just listened.
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almost as much as her player.Re: Discussion
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