1. Claudius Galen
Claudius Galen was born in 129 A.D. and passed away around c. 216 A.D. He was a Greek physician, producing books that would render his to become the greatest physician to the Roman Empire. He was known for bringing philosophy into the work of others medical research. Galen was born to a wealthy family. When his father passed away when Galen was only 20 years old, that is when he decided to travel the Mediterranean to learn the latest techniques in medicine and healing. He would use his knowledge and techniques observed to create his own effective methods.
In his studies, he believed that a healthy diet was important for well-being. He would learn that hygiene was important in practices, which would late reduce the amount of deaths in the field of medicine. He preferred to learn about anatomy by dissection. This would lead him to his findings. Galen and the ideas of Hippocrates provided the first natural theory of disease which was evidence of progress as it stepped away from supernatural ideas about cause and cure of illness. Study of the body and what is causing disease and how diet has a direct impact on the health of a person. Galen believed in the power of experiment and observation.
Galen had successes and failures throughout his time. Some of the successes include diagnosis of disease by careful attention to the patient’s pulse and urine, removal of cataracts, psychological disturbance diagnoses, location of urine, discovering that arteries carry blood, identification of 7 cranial nerves, identifying two types of blood, and discovering that the heart has four valves allowing blood to flow in one direction. All of his successes and failures have contributed to modern medicine in their own little ways. His discoveries may have not been completed, but they would be a start to other physicians later.
a. https://www.famousscientists.org/galen/
b. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/a-history-of-medicine/claudius-galen/
c. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/galen.shtml
2. Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides)
Moses ben Maimon was a Jewish philosopher, jurist, and physician, the foremost intellectual figure of medieval Judaism. The Mishneh Torah, his 14-volume compendium of Jewish law, established him as the leading rabbinic authority of his time and quite possibly of all time. His philosophic masterpiece, the Guide of the Perplexed, is a sustained treatment of Jewish thought and practice that seeks to resolve the conflict between religious knowledge and secular. His contributions in religion, philosophy, and medicine have influenced Jewish and non-Jewish scholars alike.
According to Maimonides, all of Jewish law aims at two things: the improvement of the body and the improvement of the soul. The former is in every case a means to the latter. The soul is improved by acquiring correct opinions and eventually knowledge on everything humans are capable of knowing. The more knowledge the soul acquires, the more it is able to fulfill the commandment (Deuteronomy 6:5) to love God. The biggest stumbling block to love of God is the belief that the only way to remain true to the Bible is to interpret it literally. The result of literal interpretation is a material conception of God, which, in Maimonides’ opinion, amounts to idolatry.
a. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Moses-Maimonides
b. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/maimonides/
3. Idn Sina (Avicenna)
Muslim physician, the most famous and influential of the philosopher-scientists of the medieval Islamic world. He was particularly noted for his contributions in the fields of Aristotelian philosophy and medicine. He composed the Kitāb al-shifāʾ (Book of the Cure), a vast philosophical and scientific encyclopaedia, and Al-Qānūn fī al-ṭibb (The Canon of Medicine), which is among the most famous books in the history of medicine.
a. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Avicenna
4. Andreas Vesalius
5. Frank Netter
Part 2:
1. Allopathic Medicine
Allopathic medicine is a system in which medical doctors and other healthcare professionals (such as nurses, pharmacists, and therapists) treat symptoms and diseases using drugs, radiation, or surgery. Currently known today as traditional or conventional Western medicine.
Practitioners of alternative medicine have used the term “allopathic medicine” to refer to the practice of conventional medicine in both Europe and the United States since the 19th century. The expression was coined in 1810 by the creator of homeopathy, Samuel Hahnemann (1755–1843)
Hahnemann viewed the physicians with conventional training were just treating the symptoms without addressing the underlying disease. Allopathic treatment for a fever would include a drug that reduces the fever and also include a drug (such as an antibiotic) that attacks the cause of the fever.
Integrative medicine is the term now used which means using a combination of the best methods of both alternative medicine and allopathic medicine. Both allopathic practitioners and alternative practitioners would agree that a patient with an inflamed appendix ready to burst would need surgery. But alternative practitioners feel the allopathic practitioners treat symptoms with drugs such as antibiotics can cause more harm than good when over used.
a. https://www.verywell.com/what-is-allopathic-medicine-2249039
b. http://www.harptherapyinternational.com/allopathic-medicine/
2. Chiropractic
Chiropractic is a health care profession that focuses on the relationship between the body's structure—mainly the spine—and its functioning. Manipulation of the spine appears to benefit people with lower back pain, headaches, neck pain, upper- and lower-extremity joint conditions, and whiplash-associated disorders.
The term “chiropractic” combines the Greek words cheir (hand) and praxis (practice) to describe a treatment done by hand. Hands-on therapy—especially adjustment of the spine—is central to chiropractic care. Chiropractic is based on the notion that the relationship between the body’s structure (primarily that of the spine) and its function (as coordinated by the nervous system) affects health.
Not surprisingly, the greatest number of chiropractors can be found in the US, which is where chiropractic was founded approximately 120 years ago. There are currently about 75,000 chiropractors in the US, followed by 7,250 in Canada, 4,250 in Australia and 3,000 in the UK.
a. http://www.iowachiroclinic.com/2013/12/12/chiropractic-care-around-the-world/
b. https://nccih.nih.gov/health/chiropractic/introduction.htm
3. Naturopathy
Naturopathic medicine is a distinct primary health care profession, emphasizing prevention, treatment, and optimal health through the use of therapeutic methods and substances that encourage individuals’ inherent self-healing process. The practice of naturopathic medicine includes modern and traditional, scientific, and empirical methods.
Naturopathic practice includes the following diagnostic and therapeutic modalities: clinical and laboratory diagnostic testing, nutritional medicine, botanical medicine, naturopathic physical medicine (including naturopathic manipulative therapy), public health measures, hygiene, counseling, minor surgery, homeopathy, acupuncture, prescription medication, intravenous and injection therapy, and naturopathic obstetrics (natural childbirth).
A licensed naturopathic physician (ND) attends a four-year, graduate-level naturopathic medical school and is educated in all of the same basic sciences as an MD, but also studies holistic and nontoxic approaches to therapy with a strong emphasis on disease prevention and optimizing wellness.
The origin of Naturopathic- With its most direct roots in Europe, the concepts and best practices of modern day naturopathic medicine are a combination of the principles of Ayurvedic medicine, Chinese Medicine, Eclectic Medicine and the original schools of Chiropractic and Osteopathic Medicine among many others. As patient demand for natural approaches to medicine continues to increase at an incredible pace, naturopathic doctors are poised to fill the need for qualified primary care physicians around the world. This demand has created a call to action which has lead to collaboration between over 40 countries to form the World Naturopathic Federation, whose mission it is to increase access to quality naturopathic care across the globe.
a. http://www.naturopathic.org/content.asp?contentid=59
b. http://www.naturopathic.org/article_content.asp?edition=105§ion=165&article=1006
4. Homeopathy
Homeopathy, also known as homeopathic medicine, is an alternative medical system that was developed in Germany more than 200 years ago.
Key Points
There is little evidence to support homeopathy as an effective treatment for any specific condition.
Although people sometimes assume that all homeopathic remedies are highly diluted and therefore unlikely to cause harm, some products labeled as homeopathic can contain substantial amounts of active ingredients and therefore could cause side effects and drug interactions.
Homeopathic remedies are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, FDA does not evaluate the remedies for safety or effectiveness.
Several key concepts of homeopathy are inconsistent with fundamental concepts of chemistry and physics. There are significant challenges in carrying out rigorous clinical research on homeopathic remedies.
Tell all your health care providers about any complementary health practices you use. Give them a full picture of all you do to manage your health. This will help ensure coordinated and safe care.
Homeopathic remedies are derived from substances that come from plants, minerals, or animals, such as red onion, arnica (mountain herb), crushed whole bees, white arsenic, poison ivy, belladonna (deadly nightshade), and stinging nettle. Homeopathic remedies are often formulated as sugar pellets to be placed under the tongue; they may also be in other forms, such as ointments, gels, drops, creams, and tablets. Treatments are “individualized” or tailored to each person—it is not uncommon for different people with the same condition to receive different treatments.
Homeopathy is a controversial topic in complementary medicine research. A number of the key concepts of homeopathy are not consistent with fundamental concepts of chemistry and physics. For example, it is not possible to explain in scientific terms how a remedy containing little or no active ingredient can have any effect. This, in turn, creates major challenges to rigorous clinical investigation of homeopathic remedies. For example, one cannot confirm that an extremely dilute remedy contains what is listed on the label, or develop objective measures that show effects of extremely dilute remedies in the human body.
Arizona, Connecticut, and Nevada are the only states with homeopathic licensing boards for doctors of medicine (holders of M.D. degrees) and doctors of osteopathic medicine (holders of D.O. degrees)
a. https://nccih.nih.gov/health/homeopathy
5. Midwifery vs. Doula
6. Osteopathy