Free article Directory service Nomis ProductionsWeb Articles directory is a free article submission service

Medicine today is an integral part of our lives. When we are sick we hastily call our family doctor, go to the drugstore to buy the pills we need and if something is radically wrong with us get a sick leave to be able to stay at home and get better. Have you ever imagined that things were not always like that? Here are some interesting facts about the development and main kinds of contemporary medicine.

The word medicine comes from the Latin “ars medicina”, meaning “the art of healing”. Medicine these days is a profoundly scienctific activity, but you should also know that it is a kind of art - the art of curing humans. The main functions of contemporary medicine is maintaining and restoring health by means of prevention and treatment of different diseases. Traditional medicine started as a number of healing arts and techniques based on traditional story-told non-scientific practices.

By the way, complementary medicine today has a certain power, too. Why, you might ask? You see, sometimes traditional medicine is powerless to cure a number of awful health disorders and injuries such as cancers, diabetes, AIDS, autoimmune diseases, spinal injuries etc. The point is mainstream medicine is perfect at finding out symptoms characteristic for certain health disorders and injuries and at prescribing medicines and medical handling able to lessen the patient’s pain and suffering. But often it is unable of finding the reason why the health trouble breaks out. On the contrary, alternative medicine still remembers that we possess intellect, body and soul. Anger and hate that you have inside you alongside with negative emotions you face day by day damage your soul, litter your head and crush your body.

Unlike chaotic approaches of healers, modern medicine is empoweredl with health science, biomedical research and medical technology - it can diagnose and handle injuries and diseases of all types. As a rule it applies medication, surgery and some other forms of therapy. The bulk of medical men try to remember how essential it is for the ill personality to feel care and compassion, to have a personal contact with the medical man, that is why they follow the strict set of rules known as bedside manner.

Many millennia ago our ancestores noticed that certain plants, animal parts and minerals help healing injuries and wounds and overcome various health disorders. It was not the knowledge for everyone - priests, shamans, healers and medicine men treated them as purely magical substances.
From ancient records we find out that medicine is a very old activity. Texts about ancient Egyptian medicine, Babylonian medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, classical Chinese madicine, ancient Greek and Roman medicine demonstrate that even millennia ago some men and women tried to help others in getting well! Imhotep is the first name of the physician preserved in the history of medicine. He was an Egyptian and lived about 3rd millennium BC! The fascinating truth is that ancient texts and encryptions tell us that many centuries ago there were dedicated medicinal treatment facilities for patients (like hospitals these days) and numerous surgical operations including aesthetic surgery!

You surely know that ancient Greek physician Hippocrates is said to be “the father of medicine” for sticking to rational approach to medicine. Hippocrates invented the famous Hippocratic Oath for medical people. Believe it or not, it is still in use today, as relevant and wise as ever before! What is more, Hippocrates managed to categorize health problems as acute, chronic, endemic and epidemic. In addition to it, contemporary physicians use a number of special words invented by Hippocrates - relapse, resolution, paroxysm, peak, exacerbation, crisis, convalescence are only a few of them!

Surprisingly, the Western world did not support outstanding ideas of ancient doctors after the collapse of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Dark Ages. Eastern world, on the contrary, kept and developed the Greek and Roman tradition in medicine. A prominent Islamic medical man who made a great contribution to medicine, was Avicenna. He introduced the famous Cannon of Medicine.

Medical science returned to Europe during the 14th and 15th centuries when awful Black Death ravaged Europe killing up to 30-60% of its population. This incredibly dangerous pandemic made physicians reject the ‘traditional authority’ approach to science and medicine and look for alternative decisions. Doctors like Ibn al-Nafis and Vesalius did a great job supporting or criticizing numerous theories from the past.

But the new era of medicine started in the 18th century when Edward Jenner discovered the smallpox vaccine. Since then biomedical investigation has become one of the major proofs in medicine, while ancient traditions started fading. Around 1880 Robert Koch discovered the transmission of illnesses by bacteria and soon in 1908 Paul Ehrlich discovered the first antibiotics.

The 20th century was a real stream of medical events and investigations. It is impossible to enumerate all the talented medical people whose research and experiments led to new treatments and the use of revolutionary medications!

Up-to-date pharmacology inherited the old knowledge of herbalism and incorporated a number of ideas of the chemistry, but all the same, a long list of medications are still derived from plants. For example atropine used in ophthalmology and gastroenterology, ephedrine effective for personalities with asthma, warfarin used to prevent heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots, aspirin we take for a number of reasons, digoxin irreplaceable in cardiology and a number of other essential humans are received from plants. But the technology applied today is brand new! A number of meds reduced their side-effects due to innovative ways of production and what is more, new meds are designed for absolute compatibility with a human body!

Today you don’t even have to stand in line in the waiting room to get your prescription. You can easily find a trusted online pharmacy no prescription necessary and enjoy immaculate support team and swift service! All you have to do is to orders high-quality discount meds available. You can chose to purchase brand drugs or generic meds. They share the same formula and are equally effective, but the price of any generic drug is much more affordable.

Present-day medicine can be named an evidence-based science, and unlike it was in ancient healing systems its major purpose is sharing information and clinical experience. The fact ramains that the ‘best practice’ approaches tend to suppress new ideas of treatment, that is why there numerous systematic medical reviews available.

Up-to-date medicine is first of all the practice where doctors personally assess patients to examine, diagnose and handle them. So, as you see the famous TV diagnostic genius Gregory House is not a typical practitioner at all! When you visit a practitioner the standard procedure is like that:
- it begins with studying the patient’s medical history; then goes a detailed medical interview and a thorough physical examination. If necessary the examination is followed by medical tests - blood test, urine test, smear, biopsy etc. Please, remember, it is very important for the doctor to know every truthful detail and symptom - otherwise right diagnosing is impossible! Forget about being shy or squeamish when you see your doctor - tell him or her everything that you find odd and suspicious - that might be helpful. The medical appointment is documented in the special medical record and your personal medical history, which is a legal document.

The process of medical handling depends on the case. You stay at home if the issue is simple and take the drugs prescribed by your physician. Serious cases may take weeks and several specialists to cope with and the patient is likely to be hospitalized.

Medicine today is a part of health care system of each powerful country. It is vital to ensure that every person has access to medical care irrespective of the person’s ability to pay for the service. That is why it is so important to support state-owned and charitable hospitals and clinics.

The medical personnel consist not only of physicians. Well-trained nurses, paramedics and emergency medical technicians help their men and women go the whole way through his or her case and recover as soon as possible. We cannot live without the service of radiographers, dietitians, surgeons, dentists, anaesthetists etc as well. The quality of national health service (NHS) depends exceptionally on the knowledge and practical skills of all these men and women. No wonder medical specialty in universities should meet the highest standards of education achievable! What is more, in all Western European countries, USA and other countries of the world a medical doctor must be licensed or registered before he or she can start medical practice. If the doctor fails to use all his or her possibilities to help the patient, if he or she is negligent or deliberately harmful, this doc can be charged of medical malpractice. You can find many cases when medical men were subjects to professional, civil or criminal sanctions. Fortunately, cases like that are seldom and as a rule people decide to be doctors because it is their vocation! Who else but a willing creature agrees to deal with sick and unbearable patients for all the professional life!