Types of medicine
(according to their fundamentals)
Empirical medicines (based only on empiricism and magical beliefs)
Rational and scientific medicines (incorporating some scientific basis, although the previous two may persist).
Original forms
Scientific - speculative medicines
Prehistoric medicine
Primitive medicine (of primitive people)
Popular medicines (of uneducated people)
Systematic forms
Non-validated medical practices: these are the so-called parallel or alternative medicines of today.
Classical Asian medicines
Chinese medicine
Hindu medicine
Rational Western medicine
Classical Greek medicine
Medicines assimilated to Greek medicine: Roman, Byzantine, Arab and medieval.
Experimental- scientific medicine
Contemporary medicine
Contemporary medicine is the modern practice based on scientific research, advanced technology, and evidence-based treatments.
Archaic medicines: in the archaic civilizations of Egypt and the near east
Throughout history, humanity has battled disease in many ways, from ancient rituals to modern science. Medicine, in all its forms, draws from a mix of empirical knowledge, rational thought, and mystical beliefs.
Scientific speculative medicines
Ancient Greek medicine
5th century BC Greek medicine
Aristotle's influence
Rational Medicine
Modern Science Contrast
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) & Ayurvedic Medicine
Religious medicine: Linked to temples of Asclepius, cultivated by priests.
Techne Iatrike: Evolution from artisanal to a scientific medical art.
Artisan medical schools: Independent of priesthood (Cyrene, Crotone, Kos, Knidos).
Shift from supernatural to natural explanations: Transition from supernatural interpretations to natural explanations.
Philosophy's role in medicine: Debate over the independence or derivation of medicine from philosophy.
Hippocratic writings:
De prisca medicina: Advocates for medicine as an independent knowledge.
Post-Aristotelian integration: Advocates for integrating philosophy and medicine.
Structure of scientific knowledge: Aristotle's philosophy structured and integrated natural sciences into medicine.
Scientific-speculative nature: Ancient medicine relied on the intuition of essences through observation.
Lack of experimental verification: Concepts were accepted based on clarity and coherence without experimental validation.
Epistemic humility: Modern science treats concepts as provisional, requiring experimental validation.
Classified as scientific-speculative: Contain elements of scientific-speculative medicine.
Integration of experimental elements: Some aspects are studied experimentally, aiding therapeutic integration.
Scientific-speculative medicine began as a shift from supernatural beliefs to natural explanations, influenced by philosophy and early medical practices, setting the stage for modern science.
Scientific Experimental Medicine
Pathophysiological
Anatomo-Clinical
Etiopathological
Current Medicine as a Synthesis
Developed by the Paris School (early 19th century).
Correlation between clinical observations and autopsy findings.
Bichat: "Medicine will be exact science when correlated with anatomical lesions."
Disease redefined as residing in anatomical lesions.
Limitation: Neglected functional processes and disease causes.
Emerged in German universities (mid-19th century).
Focus on organic functions and dysfunctions using physics and chemistry.
Experimentation essential for understanding pathology (Traube).
Disease redefined as a functional alteration.
Dominated by microbiology and toxicology (late 19th century).
Focus on the causes of diseases.
Disease understood as caused by external agents (e.g., microbes, toxins).
Emphasis on infections as causes of disease.
Modern medicine integrates the three mentalities: etiology, pathological anatomy, and physiopathology.
Molecular biology further enriches these approaches.
This section explores the evolution of scientific-experimental medicine in the 19th century, focusing on three different methodological perspectives—anatomo-clinical, pathophysiological, and etiopathological—that laid the foundation for modern medical science.