Kitasato Shibasaburō (1853-1931) studied bacteriology in Germany under Robert Koch. In 1891, he founded the Institute of Infectious Diseases in Tokyo, which introduced the study of bacteriology to Japan. He and French explorer Alexandre Yersin traveled to Hong Kong in 1894, where he; Kitasato confirmed Yersin`s discovery that the bacterium Yersinia pestis is the causative agent of plague. In 1897 he isolated and described the organism that caused dysentery. He became the first dean of the medical school at Keio University and the first president of the Japanese Medical Association. [173] [174] Hippocrates of Kos (/hɪˈpɒkrətiːz/; Greek: Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, translit. Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; c. 460 BC J.-C.; † c. 370 BC. AD), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the classical period, considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine. He is traditionally called the „father of medicine” in recognition of his sustained contributions to the field, such as the use of prognosis and clinical observation, the systematic categorization of diseases, or the formulation of humoral theory. The Hippocratic School of Medicine revolutionized ancient Greek medicine and established it as a discipline distinct from other fields with which it was traditionally associated (theurgy and philosophy), thus establishing medicine as a profession.
[1] [2] Hippocrates vehemently rejected misconceptions about the disease. He believed that people did not get sick because of God`s will or chastisement, or even as a byproduct of mystical spirits hidden in the environment, but because of the imbalance caused in their physical being. His rational mind separated illness from religion and allowed him to examine in depth the state and behavior of the human body. The father of medicine formulated the theory of the four juices, which was celebrated by Plato, Aristotle and William Shakespeare and later made famous. As an alternative form of medicine in India, Unani medicine found deep roots and royal patronage in the Middle Ages. It developed during the periods of the Indian and Mughal sultanate. Unani medicine is very close to Ayurveda. Both are based on the theory of the presence of the elements (in Unani they are considered fire, water, earth and air) in the human body.
According to followers of Unani medicine, these elements are present in various fluids and their balance leads to health, and their imbalance leads to diseases. [15] In the thirteenth century, the Faculty of Medicine of Montpellier began to eclipse the Salernitan school. In the 12th century, universities were founded in Italy, France and England, which quickly developed medical faculties. The University of Montpellier in France and the Italian University of Padua and the University of Bologna were leading schools. Almost all the learning came from lectures and readings to Hippocrates, Galen, Avicenna and Aristotle. In the following centuries, the importance of universities founded in the late Middle Ages gradually increased, for example the Charles University in Prague (founded in 1348), the Jagiellonian University in Kraków (1364), the University of Vienna (1365), the University of Heidelberg (1386) and the University of Greifswald (1456). Humor theory was derived from ancient medical work, dominating Western medicine until the 19th century. It is attributed to the Greek philosopher and surgeon Galen of Pergamon (129-c. 216 BC). [39] In Greek medicine, it is believed that there are four juices or bodily fluids associated with the disease: blood, mucus, yellow bile and black bile.
[40] Early scientists believed that food is digested in the blood, muscles and bones, while juices that were not blood were then formed by indigestible materials that remain. An excess or deficiency of any of the four juices is theorized to cause an imbalance that leads to disease; the above statement was suggested by sources before Hippocrates. [40] Hippocrates (circa 400 BC) concluded that the four seasons and four ages of man affect the body in terms of juice. [39] The four ages of man are childhood, adolescence, main age and old age. [40] The four juices associated with the four seasons are black bile – autumn, yellow bile – summer, mucus – winter and blood – spring. [41] According to Hippocrates, the physician had to examine a patient, carefully observe symptoms, make a diagnosis, and then treat the patient (1, 2, 5, 6, 12). Therefore, Hippocrates laid the foundation for clinical medicine as it is still practiced today (1, 2, 5). He introduced many medical terms commonly used by doctors, including symptoms, diagnosis, therapy, trauma and sepsis (12). In addition, he described the presentation of a large number of diseases without superstition. Their names are still used in modern medicine, including diabetes, gastritis, enteritis, arthritis, cancer, eclampsia, coma, paralysis, mania, panic, hysteria, epilepsy and many others (12). The latter disease was called „divine” before Hippocrates, and a passage attributed to it emphasizes its rational way of thinking: „Epilepsy is no more divine disease than any other disease.
People call it divine because they don`t understand it. But if we call divine all that we do not understand, then the divine will be infinite” (1:12). At the University of Bologna, the training of doctors began in 1219. The Italian city attracted students from all over Europe. Taddeo Alderotti built a tradition of medical education that established the characteristic features of Italian scholarly medicine and was copied by medical faculties elsewhere. Turisanus († 1320) was his pupil. [105] I am pleased to express my gratitude to all those who, in one way or another, have invited me to follow this path in history. My ancestors Hippocrates, Asclepiades and countless others who cared about others as much as they cared about themselves. My parents Nikos and Stella, the teachers, for the gifts of life and humanistic values. My brothers Costas the professor of environmental engineering and Thanassis the poet for enriching my mind.
My late friend, Dr. Nikos Koufaliotis, who sparked my interest in medicine and history again and again. My supervisor Professor Dimitris Loukopoulos for introduction to molecular medicine and respect for patients. My extraordinary colleague, Professor Peter S. Harper, invited me into the world of the history of medical genetics. My stimulating colleague, Professor Manolis J. Papagrigorakis, for the research adventure of trying to close the case of the plague of Athens opened by Thucydides twenty-four centuries ago.