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Medicine today is an inalienable part of our lives. When we feel unwell we hastily call the ambulance, go to the drugstore to get the pills 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 imagined that things were not always like that? Here are some interesting facts about the development and major kinds of contemporary medicine.

The word medicine comes from the Latin “ars medicina”, meaning “the art of healing”. Medicine now is a profoundly scienctific activity, but you should also know that it is a kind of art - the art of curing humans. The main tasks of modern medicine is supporting and restoring health by means of prevention and treatment of different health problems. Traditional medicine sprang up as a number of 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 usual medicine is powerless to cure many hard diseases and injuries such as cancers, diabetes, AIDS, autoimmune diseases, spinal injuries etc. The point is mainstream medicine is perfect at finding out symptoms typical for certain diseases and injuries and at prescribing medications 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 every day of your life damage your soul, litter your head and crush your body.

Unlike chaotic approaches of healers, modern medicine is equipped with health science, biomedical research and medical technology - it can diagnose and manage injuries and diseases of all kinds. As a rule it applies medication, surgery and some other forms of therapy. The bulk of docs try to remember how important it is for the ill individual to feel care and compassion, to have a close contact with the physician, 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 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 demonstrate that even millennia ago some people tried to help others in getting well! Imhotep is the first name of the physician preserved in the history of medicine. He was an Egyptian and lived about 3rd millennium BC! The stunning fact is that ancient texts and encryptions tell us that so long ago there were dedicated medicinal treatment facilities for patients (like hospitals today) and numerous surgical operations including cosmetic surgery!

You surely know that ancient Greek physician Hippocrates is believed to be “the father of medicine” for establishing rational approach to medicine. Hippocrates invented 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 classify diseases as acute, chronic, endemic and epidemic. In addition to it, present-day docs use numerous special words invented by Hippocrates - relapse, resolution, paroxysm, peak, exacerbation, crisis, convalescence are only a few of them!

Surprisingly, the Western world did not support prominent ideas of ancient doctors after the fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Dark Ages. Eastern world, on the contrary, kept and supported the Greek and Roman ways in medicine. A notable Islamic doctor who made a great contribution to medicine, was Avicenna. He created the famous Cannon of Medicine.

Medical science interested Europe during the 14th and 15th centuries when devastating Black Death ravaged Europe killing up to 30-60% of its population. This incredibly dangerous pandemic made physicians forget about the ‘traditional authority’ approach to science and medicine and search for new decisions. Physicians like Ibn al-Nafis and Vesalius did a great job developing or criticizing numerous theories from the past.

But the new era of medicine began 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 became a history. Around 1880 Robert Koch discovered the transmission of illnesses by bacteria and soon in 1908 Paul Ehrlich discovered the first antibiotics.

The 20th century was a real parade of medical events and research. It is impossible to enumerate all the talented doctors whose innovations and experiments led to new treatments and the use of revolutionary drugs!

Modern 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 patients 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 people are received from plants. But the technology applied today is brand new! A number of meds reduced their side-effects due to innovative ways of production and what is more, new meds 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 and enjoy immaculate support team and swift service! All you have to do is to orders high-quality discount medications available. You can chose to take brand meds or generic medications. They share the same formula and are equally effective, but the price of any generic drug is much more lower.

Up-to-date 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 fact ramains that the ‘best practice’ approaches tend to stifle new ideas of treatment, that is why there a number of systematic medical reviews available.

Modern medicine is first of all the activity where doctors face patients to examine, diagnose and handle them. So, as you guess the famous TV diagnostic genius Gregory House is not a mainstream practitioner at all! When you visit a doctor the standard procedure is like that:
- it starts with studying the patient’s medical history; then goes 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 detail and symptom - otherwise right diagnosing is impossible! Stop being shy or squeamish when you see your doctor - 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 medical handling depends on the case. You get a sick leave if the case is simple and take the pills prescribed by your practitioner. 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 civilized country. It is vital to ensure that every personality has access to medical care irrespective of the patient’s ability to pay for the service. That is why it is so vital to support state-owned and charitable hospitals and clinics.

The medical personnel consist not only of doctors. Well-trained nurses, paramedics and emergency medical technicians help their personalities 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 men and women. 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 begin medical practice. If the doctor fails to use all his or her possibilities to help the patient, if he or she is negligent or deliberately harmful, this practitioner 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 men and women choose to be doctors because it is their vocation! Who else but a willing creature agrees to deal with ill and unbearable patients for all the professional life!