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Medicine today is an imprescriptible part of our lives. When we are ill we hastily call our parctitioner, go to the chemistry to get the medications we need and if something is radically wrong with us receive a sick leave to be able to stay at home and get better. Have you ever thought that things were not always like that? Here are some stunning facts about the development and major sorts of contemporary medicine.

The word medicine is derived from the Latin “ars medicina”, meaning “the art of healing”. Medicine these days is a totally scienctific activity, but you should also know that it is a kind of art - the art of curing humans. The major tasks of present-day medicine is supporting and restoring health by means of prevention and treatment of various health troubles. Official medicine sprang up as numerous healing arts and techniques based on traditional story-told non-scientific practices.

By the way, alternative medicine today has a definite power, too. Why, you might ask? You see, sometimes mainstream medicine is powerless to cure a long list of awful diseases and injuries such as cancers, diabetes, AIDS, autoimmune diseases, spinal injuries etc. The point is official medicine is perfect at finding out symptoms characteristic for certain health disorders and injuries and at prescribing drugs and medical procedures able to abate the patient’s pain and tribulation. But often it is unable of finding the reason why the disease starts. On the contrary, complementary medicine still remembers that we possess intellect, body and soul. Anger and hate that you accumulate inside you alongside with negative emotions you have daily damage your soul, stuff up your head and ruin your body.

Unlike unsystematic approaches of healers, modern medicine is empoweredl with health science, biomedical research and medical technology - it can diagnose and treat injuries and diseases of all types. traditionally it applies medication, surgery and some other forms of therapy. The main part of docs try to remember how essential it is for the ill patient to feel care and compassion, to have a close contact with the medical man, that is why they follow the strict set of rules known as bedside manner.

Many millennia ago our forefathers noticed that certain plants, animal parts and minerals help curing injuries and wounds and overcome various diseases. It was not the knowledge for everyone - priests, shamans, healers and medicine men treated them as purely magical substances.
From early 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 prove that even millennia ago some men and women tried to help others in getting well! Imhotep is the first name of the medical man preserved in the history of medicine. He was an Egyptian and lived about 3rd millennium BC! The fascinating fact is that ancient texts and encryptions tell us that so long ago there were dedicated medicinal treatment facilities for patients (like hospitals these days) and numerous surgical operations including plastic surgery!

You surely know that ancient Greek doctor Hippocrates is said to be “the father of medicine” for establishing rational approach to medicine. Hippocrates wrote the famous Hippocratic Oath for physicians. Believe it or not, it is still in use today, as relevant and wise as ever before! What is more, Hippocrates managed to classify illnesses as acute, chronic, endemic and epidemic. In addition to it, present-day physicians use many special words invented by Hippocrates - relapse, resolution, paroxysm, peak, exacerbation, crisis, convalescence are only a few of them!

Surprisingly, the Western world did not develop outstanding ideas of ancient practitioners after the collapse of the Roman Empire and the onset of the Dark Ages. Eastern world, on the contrary, kept and supported the Greek and Roman tradition in medicine. A prominent Islamic doctor who made a great contribution to medicine, was Avicenna. He invented the famous Cannon of Medicine.

Medical science interested Europe during the 14th and 15th centuries when deadly Black Death ravaged Europe killing up to 30-60% of its population. This awful pandemic made practitioners reject the ‘traditional authority’ approach to science and medicine and seek alternative ways out. Practitioners like Ibn al-Nafis and Vesalius did a great job developing or criticizing numerous approaches from the past.

But the new age of medicine launched in the 18th century when Edward Jenner invented 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 diseases 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 hard to enumerate all the outstanding doctors whose innovations and experiments resulted in new treatments and the use of revolutionary medicines!

Contemporary pharmacology inherited the ancient knowledge of herbalism and incorporated many ideas of the chemistry, but nevertheless, a long list of medicines are still derived from plants. For example atropine used in ophthalmology and gastroenterology, ephedrine effective for persons 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 patients are received from plants. But the technology applied today is brand new! A number of medicines reduced their side-effects due to innovative ways of production and what is more, new pills are designed for full compatibility with a human organism!

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 rx 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 medicines or generic pills. They share the same formula and are equally effective, but the price of any generic pill is much more lower.

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

Contemporary medicine is first of all the practice where doctors personally assess patients to examine, diagnose and treat them. So, as you guess the famous TV diagnostic genius Gregory House is not a typical practitioner at all! When you see a medical man the standard procedure is like that:
- it begins with studying the patient’s medical history; then goes a detailed medical interview and a careful 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 sign and symptom - otherwise normal diagnosing is impossible! Stop being shy or squeamish when you visit your medical man - tell him or her everything that you find strange 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 treatment depends on the case. You get a sick leave if the issue is simple and take the meds prescribed by your doctor. Serious cases may take weeks and several specialists to handle and the patient is likely to be hospitalized.

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

The medical personnel consist not only of medical men. Well-trained nurses, paramedics and emergency medical technicians help their patients 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 humans. That is exactly why medical specialty in universities should meet the highest standards of education possible! 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 MD fails to use all his or her possibilities to help the patient, if he or she is negligent or intentionally harmful, this medical man can be charged of medical malpractice. You can find many cases when practitioners were subjects to professional, civil or criminal sanctions. Fortunately, cases like that are seldom and as a rule personalities decide to be doctors because it is their calling! Who else but a willing creature agrees to deal with sick and unbearable patients for all the professional life!