The Rise And Falls To Modern Medicine

Essay, Research Paper

In “the Miller’s Tale”, Geoffrey Chaucer depicts the parish priest assistant Absolon and his sexual interests in Allison, the miller’s daughter. In addition to his “religious” duties, he also had obligations in hair cutting. He could “laten” blood, shave, and “clippe”. This latter term fives rise to the medical treatment bleeding which was performed by most barbers of that era.

After the disappearance of medicine during the Dark Ages, a new knowledge surfaced throughout the medical community. During these times there were a great many scientific breakthroughs. The findings of William Harvey proved that blood traveled through veins away from the heart. Claudius Galen, a renowned physician and philosopher, succeeded in explaining the function of nerves, brain structures, and some physiological tendencies of the body. However, he also contributed to the hindrance of medical advancement. He performed dissections on the human body to better his understanding as a physician. His only knowledge of the human anatomy was from that of animals; therefore, the public or medical community did not accept his studies. His incompetence slowed medical process for along time; thus, hie teaching were politely shoved aside so that physicians could “search for a scientific basis for medical knowledge.” This new direction of medical practices still held onto some of the old medieval ways. Other than cutting hair, barbers were surgeons attending to small wounds, doing minor surgery, and bleeding. People believed that bloodletting could aside in many diseases though it resulted only in the rapid spread of deaths among people with potential to recover.

This renaissance uncovered many discoveries that lead to the use of modern medicine such as the stethoscope, the digestive system, serums, antitoxins, and even hypnosis. The ways in medieval times initiated some of the greatest medical advances in the world, though today’s society would probably be more accepting to surgeons acting as barbers on the side and NOT vice versa!

Bibliography

The Roots of modern medicine. http//noonyide.lick.pvt.k12.ca.us/Lick/courses/intro/h2/med/medm1.html

The Roots of Roman Medicine. http://noontide.lick.pvt.k12.ca.us/Lick/courses/intro/h2/med/medr1.html