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Medicine has become an inalienable part of our lives. When we feel unwell we hastily call the ambulance, go to the drugstore to get the meds we require and if something is radically wrong with us get 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 types of modern medicine.

The word medicine is derived from the Latin “ars medicina”, meaning “the art of healing”. Medicine these days is a profoundly scienctific activity, but you should also know that it is a sort of art - the art of healing humans. The main functions of modern medicine is maintaining and restoring health by means of prevention and treatment of different health problems. Mainstream medicine started as a number of healing arts and techniques based on traditional story-told non-scientific practices.

By the way, alternative medicine today has a certain power, too. Why, you might ask? You see, sometimes traditional medicine is unable to cure a number of horrible diseases and injuries such as cancers, diabetes, AIDS, autoimmune diseases, spinal injuries etc. The point is conventional medicine is really good at finding out symptoms characteristic for certain diseases and injuries and at prescribing medications and medical handling able to relieve the patient’s pain and tribulation. But often it is unable of finding the reason why the health problem starts. On the contrary, complementary medicine still remembers that we possess intellect, body and soul. Anger and hate that you keep inside you alongside with negative emotions you have daily hurt your soul, litter your head and crush your body.

Unlike unsystematic approaches of healers, modern medicine is equipped with health science, biomedical research and medical technology - it can diagnose and treat injuries and diseases of all sorts. traditionally it applies medication, surgery and some other forms of therapy. The bulk of medical men try to remember how important it is for the ill personality to feel care and compassion, to have a personal contact with the doc, that is why they follow the strict set of rules known as bedside manner.

Many millennia ago our ancestores noticed that certain plants, animal parts and minerals help healing injuries and wounds and overcome different health issues. It was not the knowledge for everyone - priests, shamans, healers and medicine men believed them to be purely magical substances.
From ancient 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 demonstrate that even millennia ago some humans tried to help others in getting well! Imhotep is the first name of the doctor preserved in the history of medicine. He was an Egyptian and lived about 3rd millennium BC! The stunning truth 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 aesthetic surgery!

You surely know that ancient Greek doctor Hippocrates is said to be “the father of medicine” for building rational approach to medicine. Hippocrates created the famous Hippocratic Oath for doctors. Believe it or not, it is still in use today, as relevant and wise as ever before! What is more, Hippocrates managed to see health troubles as acute, chronic, endemic and epidemic. In addition to it, up-to-date medical men use a number of 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 eminent ideas of ancient practitioners after the fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Dark Ages. Eastern world, on the contrary, kept and developed the Greek and Roman tradition in medicine. A prominent Islamic doctor who made a great contribution to medicine, was Avicenna. He introduced the famous Cannon of Medicine.

Medical science returned to Europe during the 14th and 15th centuries when devastating bubonic plague 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 look for alternative decisions. Doctors like Ibn al-Nafis and Vesalius did a great job developing or criticizing numerous approaches from the past.

But the new era of medicine launched in the 18th century when Edward Jenner invented the smallpox vaccine. Since then biomedical investigation has become one of the main proofs in medicine, while ancient traditions became a history. Around 1880 Robert Koch deciphered the transmission of illnesses 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 talented doctors whose investigations and experiments resulted in new treatments and the use of revolutionary meds!

Contemporary pharmacology inherited the old knowledge of herbalism and incorporated numerous ideas of the chemistry, but nevertheless, a long list of drugs are still derived from plants. For instance atropine used in ophthalmology and gastroenterology, ephedrine effective for people 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 personalities are received from plants. But the technology applied today is brand new! A number of medications reduced their side-effects due to innovative ways of production and what is more, new meds are designed for complete compatibility with a human body!

Today you don’t even have to queue up in the waiting room to get your prescription. You can easily find a realiable online drugstore without a prescription and enjoy immaculate support team and swift service! All you have to do is to orders high-quality cheapest medications online available. You can chose to take brand pills or generic drugs. They share the same formula and are equally effective, but the price of any generic pill is much more lower.

Up-to-date medicine can be regarded as to an evidence-based science, and unlike it was in ancient healing techniques its major purpose is sharing information and clinical experience. The fact ramains that the ‘best practice’ approaches tend to stifle new ideas of treatment, that is why there many systematic medical reviews available.

Present-day medicine is first of all the practice where doctors meet patients to examine, diagnose and handle them. So, as you understand the famous TV diagnostic genius Gregory House is not a usual practitioner at all! When you visit a doctor the standard procedure is like that:
- it begins with studying the patient’s medical history; then follows a detailed medical interview and a thorough physical examination. If necessary the examination is followed by medical tests - blood test, urine test, smear, biopsy etc. Please, bear in mind, it is very essential for the doctor to know every truthful sign and symptom - otherwise right diagnosing is impossible! Stop being shy or squeamish when you visit your physician - tell him or her everything that you find odd and alarming - 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 problem is simple and take the medications prescribed by your physician. Serious cases may take weeks and several specialists to handle and the patient is likely to be hospitalized.

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

The medical personnel consist not only of docs. Well-trained nurses, paramedics and emergency medical technicians help their people go the whole way through his or her case and get well 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 men and women. That is exactly why medical specialty in universities should meet the highest standards of education imaginable! 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 begin medical practice. If the practitioner fails to use all his or her possibilities to help the patient, if he or she is negligent or deliberately harmful, this doctor can be charged of medical malpractice. You can find many cases when physicians were subjects to professional, civil or criminal sanctions. Fortunately, cases like that are seldom and as a rule persons choose to be doctors because it is their calling! Who else but a willing creature agrees to deal with ill and unbearable patients for all the professional life!