Medicine in the Ancient and Medieval World - Essay Example

Introduction: A great deal of emphasis has been placed upon the development of Western medicine and the means through which the Renaissance and Enlightenment created a basis for the scientific discoveries that have ultimately culminated in what is known as “modern medicine”. However, even though the level of understanding that exists within the current era is profound, this should not be understood to denote that Western society, and Western society alone, is somehow responsible for the complete and thorough understanding of medicine and the means through which a patient should be treated. Long before Western society developed even a rudimentary level of understanding concerning the human body and/or disease, societies within Asia were figuratively light years ahead of what understanding was represented within the Western world. As a function of discussing an understanding this differential to a more full and complete manner, following analysis will be concentric upon representing the case of India and the case of Georgia1; with regard to how these societies and cultures integrated with an understanding, interpretation, and application of relevant understandings of health and/or patient care. It is the hope of this author that the reader will be able to utilize these relevant interpretations as a means of engaging with an understanding contributions and differentials that other cultures have been able to bring to the field of medicine throughout the course of millennia. India: The Development and Continued Relevance of Ayurveda: Dating as far back as 5000 B.C.E., Ayurveda, is a system of traditional medicine that is native to the Indian subcontinent. Although there is a great deal of disagreement among historians and scholars with respect to the actual amount of change that has been exhibited within Ayurveda since it first came to appear within the historical record, it is clear that this particular approach to medicine and understanding the relevant needs and issues that the human body experiences has fundamentally shaped the way in which individuals from this part of the world integrate with an understanding of healthcare. In determining the ultimate background of this particular approach to medicine, it must be stated that from a review of relevant resources and a historical analysis, the reader can and should come to the understanding that Ayurveda initially was put forward in tandem with religious practice and interpretation of the spirit world. This is a fundamentally important aspects of early Indian medicine as it has been retained, passed on, and understood in tandem with innate spiritual truth throughout the ages.2 Whereas it is fundamentally true that a spiritual interpretation of the physical world oftentimes misleads the individual with respect to relevant causes and/or scientific realities, the particular cultural relevance of the approach that Ayurveda put forward was one that inherently could not be ignored, forgotten, or denied. At its very core, Ayurveda separates relevant types of medical understanding in the way to Western medicine. Although it may be true that the comparisons in here, it is necessary to denote that the relevance and importance of this particular approach is maximized by the fact that it had the overall level of understanding and comprehension to separate different types of medical interventions based upon their need, localized effect, and potential level of intervention. For purposes of clarity and further analysis, these major subdivisions of Ayurveda are as follows: General Medicine Surgery Ophthalmology Demonology Toxicology Elixirs Aphrodisiacs With the exception of aphrodisiacs and demonology, the researcher can immediately see that the major areas of focus fall generally along the same lines in which Western medicine has invariably developed. Yet, rather than taking too stringent a view against the level of spirituality that is integrated within each and every stage of Ayurveda, it should instead be understood that spirituality and the need to address the psychological and spiritual needs of the individual also formed a relevant backbone of the way in which Western medicine eventually developed. For instance, the provion of care that medical professionals (healers) are supposed to engage upon follows a specific theme that is not dissimilar to the way in which “Western medicine is practiced”. Ultimately, Ayurveda proposes that the medical professional/healer should begin with a thorough consideration of symptoms and an analysis of any relevant data or understanding that the patient or his/her loved ones can contribute to the case. This serves as an analogous representation of the way in which Western medicine seeks to diagnose a particular condition prior to engaging in any remediation. A further comparable contrast with regards to the way in which Western medicine developed is with respect to the fact that early Indian religious beliefs were concentric in large part to the idea of promoting goodness within the world around them. As such, seeking to heal the sick, tend to their needs, and light with a balance for goodness and virtue within the world was understood as a primary need. From the understanding that is thus far been promoted, it can clearly be seen that this traditional and historical/cultural approach to medicine has had a formula to impact with regards to the way in which individuals within India, and elsewhere throughout this particular region of the world, and integrated with an understanding of healthcare and medicine. Although it may appear as a bit of a stretch, it could be understood that the high level of interest in pharmaceuticals, medical intervention, and health care that exists within India at the current time is predicated upon the historical impact and factors that have thus far been discussed. Whereas it is far from true that Ayurveda continues to be practiced within the medical establishment of India, it still has adherents within the countryside and a litany of followers that regularly address medical issues within this particular way. Not surprisingly, in seeking to answer the question of how this particular culture help to “heal itself”, the primary emphasis was placed upon a mixture of spiritual intervention, diet, exercise, and the utilization of different potent herbal combinations or oils that could be utilized to address the patient’s needs. A further interesting component that is noted with a complete and thorough study of Ayurveda has to do with the fact that diet is heavily discussed and referenced with regards to the overall impact that this can have on the health outcome/outlook that the patient can hope to experience.3 Whereas diet was not something that was understood within Western medicine were many generations, over the past several decades, medical researchers and scholars alike have come to understand that diet plays a powerful role in determining whether or not the patient will be able to experience improvement in their condition or whether or not it is likely to be terminal. This not only is with respect to the way in which scholars and practitioners engage with diseases such as diabetes, it is also with regard to the way in which the common cold and other infections are fought. Naturally, there is a differential between the way in which cultural Indian medicine developed and the way in which Western medicine currently understands diet. However, irrespective of these differentials, the reader can still come to appreciate the fact that diet is something that Western medicine has only picked up on and promoted as having a powerful impact within the past several years. Georgia: A Tradition of Cultural Transmission and Evolution If one views the nation of Georgia on a map for an atlas, they are immediately drawn to the understanding that this particular nation exists at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. Located at the eastern most barrier of the Black Sea, centuries of trans-cultural influences change the way in which George and culture developed. As compared to India, a place that was largely untouched by the outside world for many millennia, Georgia had relevant cultural interactions with both Asia and European powers dating as far back as recorded history. For instance, Greek traders and travelers referenced the Georgian culture in documents that go back to the eight century B.C.E.4 Although this is by no means as old as the previous discussion with respect to the nation and culture of India, Georgia nonetheless developed a rich and differentiated approach to medicine that will herein be discussed. Serving as a crossroads between Europe and Asia, Georgia was regularly presented with new ideas, approaches, understandings, languages, concepts, and philosophy that other nations were not fortunate enough to integrate with. In much the same way that current medicine within a globalized world is represented in as far away places as Japan or South Africa, Georgia served as one of the first places in the world in which a level of globalized station, commerce, and trade, allowed for the development of a distinctive yet syncretic level of understanding with respect to medicine. As a result of the proximity to the Mideast, earliest Georgian medicine was predicated upon a litany of different witness that was petroleum-based. As compared to other cultures throughout the world that sought to utilize herbs and other substances taken internally as a means of ameliorating health concerns, the culture and medical development of Georgia was specifically concentric upon topical treatment and the manner through which different herbal compounds and other substances could be absorbed through the skin in libido of being taken orally. As further integration and development with the outside world began to take place, travelers from the Far East and traders from different parts of Europe began to introduce their own forms of medicine within the culture of Georgia. However, rather than immediately transitioning to these new approaches, a more common occurrence was that more and more topical potions and ointments came to be created from the new birds and approaches that foreigners were presenting to the people of Georgia. As such, whereas Indian merchants and others might present basil, taking in the form of key, as a means of addressing a particular disorder, Georgians within utilize basil within an appointment as a means of addressing the same issue. Furthermore, as opposed to Indian medicine which separated the body into different areas that should be treated directly, Georgian medicine instead addressed the body in terms of reflective and reflexive treatments that could be based upon the area in question. What is meant by this is that a disease of the back or headaches might not necessarily be treated by appointment apply directly to these regions. As a function of this cultural interpretation of reflective and reflexive issues, these appointments and medicines were applied to different areas of the body which were thought to represent others. Conclusion: From the information that has been discussed, it is clear and apparent that different approaches and fundamentally different interpretations of the way in which patient needs should be addressed and overall wellness should be promoted have existed throughout the course of human history. However, it should also be understood that no particular culture has been fully able to represent a complete monopoly upon healthcare best practices and/or approaches. What is meant by this is the fact that many individuals within current society attempt to point to the fact that Western medicine is somehow unique and divorced from the impacts, understandings, and realities that many other cultures have previously integrated with. Instead of understanding medicine and health care in terms of such a xenophobic worldview, it is necessary to understand that a litany of different cultures around the world has contributed profoundly to the way in which healthcare and medicine are understood. Within such a way, the reader can then begin to grasp the way in which continual contributions from different cultures and historical interpretations of healthcare are utilize even within the current setting. Bibliography Islam, Nazrul. 2010. "Indigenous Medicine as Commodity." Current Sociology 58, no. 5: 777-798. SocINDEX with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed March 13, 2014). Joshi, Himanshu, Girish Singh, and Kishor Patwardhan. 2013. "Ayurveda education: Evaluating the integrative approaches of teaching Kriya Sharira (Ayurveda physiology)." Journal Of Ayurveda And Integrative Medicine 4, no. 3: 138-146. MEDLINE, EBSCOhost (accessed March 13, 2014). Stickley, A, A Koyanagi, E Richardson, B Roberts, D Balabanova, and M McKee. n.d. "Prevalence and factors associated with the use of alternative (folk) medicine practitioners in 8 countries of the former Soviet Union." Bmc Complementary And Alternative Medicine13, Science Citation Index, EBSCOhost (accessed March 13, 2014). Read More