The History Of Medicine: The Golden Age Of Indian Medicine

Introduction
Medicine has come a long way. The history of medicine, shows how societies have changed their approach to illness and disease from ancient times to the present. Early medical practices and texts include those of Egypt, Babylon, India, and China. The Greeks introduced the concepts of advanced medical ethics. The Hippocratic Oath was written in Greece in the 5th century BCE, and is a direct inspiration for oaths of office that physicians swear upon entry into the profession today.
Egypt
The Egyptians called the science of medicine “a necessary art”. They understood that disease could be treated by the use of medicine, they understood the healing potential in massage and aromas. Both male and female doctors specialized in specific
The CS dates back to the 1st century. The SS was probably originated in the last century BCE. All later writings on indian medicine were based on these two works. Since the Hindus were prohibited by their by their religion from cutting a dead body, because of this they knew little about human anatomy. The Sushruta however found a way to get passed this, it is written that “a body be placed in a basket and sunk in a river for seven days. On its removal the parts could be easily separated without cutting.” As a result of this method, the Hindus were able to learn much about the bone, muscles, joints, and ligaments. However they knew very little about nerves, blood vessels and internal organs. The Charaka and Sushruta state the existence of the number of diseases (Sushruta states 1,120), and rough classifications of the diseases are given. Indian medicine was extensive and consisted mainly of vegetable drugs, all of which were made indigenous plants. Charaka knew 500 medicinal plants, and Sushruta knew 760. But animal remedies such as the milk of various animals, and minerals were also employed. The physicians prepared their own vegetable
The recipes suggest chanting spells, herbal medicines, cutting the skin open and cauterization (burning the flesh). These were supposed to cure things like warts and snake bites and possession by demons (mental illness). By 100 BC, China had become a major center of medical research. It was home to some of the world’s best doctors. These doctors wrote the “Neijing”, a book about medicine, which organized and explained all of the treatments they used. The Neijing argues earlier ideas about demons making you sick. Rather the Neijing states that you get sick when the yin and yang of your body are out of balance. Lifestyle choices like bad food, not exercising, stress, and your environment can knock you out of balance. This imbalance blocks your qi (your life-force). Doctors in China used a combination of acupuncture, moxibustion, herbal medicines, and exercises to restore your balance. It is believed that at least one Han Dynasty doctor, about 23 AD, dissected a dead person to find out more about the human body. Another Han Dynasty doctor, Huo Tuo, apparently combined wine and hashish as anaesthesia for surgery. Sadly, the medical books written by Huo Tuo have all been lost. Chinese doctors figured out many ways to treat sick people. They used many medicines made of different herbs and tree barks. By the 300s AD, Ge Hong was the first doctor in the world to write about