I hold a "history of medicine" query. When did the medical community stop "bloodletting" and such?
This question came about after listen to a podcast about Civil War medicine.
When did medical science stop "bloodletting" or stop relying on the "four humors" theory and focus on modern medical science? I do know that this considerate of medicine dated way, WAY back from the Middle Ages to the enlightened 18th century.
I don't know if I be paying attention but the guy on the podcast said that even during the Civil War, there was some bloodletting going on (as very well as Southern folk remedies when conventional medicine was in short supply).
So when did the medical community fully reject the antiquated "four humors" idea? I'm not expecting an exact date but perhaps a specific time period (i.e. mid 19th century).
Thanks.
Answers:
Bloodletting was once routinely prescribed to get rid of impurities that doctors believed caused disease. So when George Washington was stricken near malaria and a sore throat in December 1799, his physicians bled a quart of blood from his weakened body, and followed that with laxatives and emetics.
A few hours then, Washington died – from a cure far worse than the disease.
A growing number of doctors are starting to agree. Maggots are useful because they help remove dead tissue and expose on top form tissue, a process called debridement. Maggot debridement therapy was popular surrounded by the early part of the last century but go out of vogue when antibiotic use became widespread.
But maggots are now making a comeback, and they are increasingly self used to treat ulcers, gangrene, skin cancer, and burns. Research also suggests maggots may help decrease the risks of infections after surgery.
Leeches, too
Maggot dream therapy is just one example of a medical approach called biotherapy -- the use of living animals to aid in medical diagnosis or treatment. Leeches are another example.
It appear to disappear during the 1900’s. In ancient times, leeches were used to treat everything from headaches to ear infections to hemorrhoids. Historians think Egyptians used parasite therapy 3,500 years ago. The treatments were back contained by vogue during the Middle Ages, and again in the 1800s.
Nowadays, leeches are routinely used to drain blood from swollen faces, limbs and digits after reconstructive surgery.
They are especially adjectives when reattaching small parts that contain many blood vessels, like ears, where on earth blood clots can easily form in veins that as a rule drain blood from tissues. If the clots are severe, the tissues can die -- drowned in the body's own fluid -- because they are deprived of oxygen and other vital nutrients.
Scientists are also looking at using leeches to treat other ailments. Studies led by Andreas Michalsen, a researcher at the University of Duisburg-Essen contained by Germany, suggests leech therapy may lessen the pain and inflammation associated near osteoarthritis, a debilitating disease where bones can grind against one another because the cartilage has be worn down.
My guess is when a reliable alternative theory came about. The germ proposal of disease.
Here's the wikipedia page on it:
the first idea about "seed-like" disease carriers be in the 1500's, but the first real evidence came surrounded by the mid 1800's
check it out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germ_theory…
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When did medical science stop "bloodletting" or stop relying on the "four humors" theory and focus on modern medical science? I do know that this considerate of medicine dated way, WAY back from the Middle Ages to the enlightened 18th century.
I don't know if I be paying attention but the guy on the podcast said that even during the Civil War, there was some bloodletting going on (as very well as Southern folk remedies when conventional medicine was in short supply).
So when did the medical community fully reject the antiquated "four humors" idea? I'm not expecting an exact date but perhaps a specific time period (i.e. mid 19th century).
Thanks.
Answers:
Bloodletting was once routinely prescribed to get rid of impurities that doctors believed caused disease. So when George Washington was stricken near malaria and a sore throat in December 1799, his physicians bled a quart of blood from his weakened body, and followed that with laxatives and emetics.
A few hours then, Washington died – from a cure far worse than the disease.
A growing number of doctors are starting to agree. Maggots are useful because they help remove dead tissue and expose on top form tissue, a process called debridement. Maggot debridement therapy was popular surrounded by the early part of the last century but go out of vogue when antibiotic use became widespread.
But maggots are now making a comeback, and they are increasingly self used to treat ulcers, gangrene, skin cancer, and burns. Research also suggests maggots may help decrease the risks of infections after surgery.
Leeches, too
Maggot dream therapy is just one example of a medical approach called biotherapy -- the use of living animals to aid in medical diagnosis or treatment. Leeches are another example.
It appear to disappear during the 1900’s. In ancient times, leeches were used to treat everything from headaches to ear infections to hemorrhoids. Historians think Egyptians used parasite therapy 3,500 years ago. The treatments were back contained by vogue during the Middle Ages, and again in the 1800s.
Nowadays, leeches are routinely used to drain blood from swollen faces, limbs and digits after reconstructive surgery.
They are especially adjectives when reattaching small parts that contain many blood vessels, like ears, where on earth blood clots can easily form in veins that as a rule drain blood from tissues. If the clots are severe, the tissues can die -- drowned in the body's own fluid -- because they are deprived of oxygen and other vital nutrients.
Scientists are also looking at using leeches to treat other ailments. Studies led by Andreas Michalsen, a researcher at the University of Duisburg-Essen contained by Germany, suggests leech therapy may lessen the pain and inflammation associated near osteoarthritis, a debilitating disease where bones can grind against one another because the cartilage has be worn down.
My guess is when a reliable alternative theory came about. The germ proposal of disease.
Here's the wikipedia page on it:
the first idea about "seed-like" disease carriers be in the 1500's, but the first real evidence came surrounded by the mid 1800's
check it out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germ_theory…
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