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Medicine today is an imprescriptible part of our lives. When we are sick we hastily call our family doctor, go to the chemistry to purchase the meds we need and if something is radically wrong with us get a sick leave to be able to stay at home and get well. Have you ever imagined that things were not always like that? Here are some interesting facts about the development and major kinds of up-to-date 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 kind of art - the art of healing humans. The main functions of present-day medicine is maintaining and restoring health by means of prevention and treatment of various health disorders. Conventional medicine sprang up as many healing arts and systems 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 long list of horrible health disorders and injuries such as cancers, diabetes, AIDS, autoimmune diseases, spinal injuries etc. The point is conventional medicine is perfect at finding out symptoms characteristic for certain illnesses and injuries and at prescribing drugs and medical handling able to lessen the patient’s pain and suffering. But often it is unable of finding the reason why the disease breaks out. On the contrary, complementary medicine still remembers that we possess intellect, body and soul. Anger and hate that you have inside you as well as negative emotions you have daily damage your soul, stuff up your head and crush your body.

Unlike unsystematic approaches of healers, present-day medicine is empoweredl with health science, biomedical research and medical technology - it can diagnose and manage injuries and diseases of all kinds. traditionally it applies medication, surgery and some other forms of therapy. The majority of practitioners try to remember how essential it is for the ill man or woman to feel care and compassion, to have a face-to-face contact with the practitioner, 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 different health troubles. 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 personalities 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 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 doctor Hippocrates is said to be “the father of medicine” for building rational approach to medicine. Hippocrates created the famous Hippocratic Oath for medical people. 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, modern MDs use many special words proposed 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 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 medical man 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 incredibly dangerous pandemic made practitioners reject the ‘traditional authority’ approach to science and medicine and look for alternative ways out. Physicians like Ibn al-Nafis and Vesalius did a great job supporting or criticizing numerous theories from the past.

But the new age of medicine began in the 18th century when Edward Jenner discovered the smallpox vaccine. Since then biomedical research has become one of the major 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 display of medical events and research. It is hard to enumerate all the outstanding doctors whose innovations and experiments led to new treatments and the use of revolutionary medications!

Modern pharmacology inherited the ancient knowledge of herbalism and incorporated many ideas of the chemistry, but nevertheless, a long list of medications 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 patients are received from plants. But the technology applied today is brand new! A number of drugs reduced their side-effects due to innovative ways of production and what is more, new medicines are designed for absolute 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 good online pharmacy no prescription needed and enjoy immaculate support team and swift service! All you have to do is to orders high-quality cheapest drugs available. You can chose to take brand medications or generic medicines. They share the same formula and are equally effective, but the price of any generic medicine is much more lower.

Present-day medicine can be regarded as to an evidence-based science, and unlike it was in ancient healing techniques its major purpose is exchanging information and clinical experience. The point is 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 face patients to examine, diagnose and handle them. So, as you realize the famous TV diagnostic genius Gregory House is not a mainstream practitioner at all! When you make an appointment with a physician 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 important for the doctor to know every truthful sign and symptom - otherwise right diagnosing is impossible! Stop being shy or squeamish when you see your physician - tell him or her everything that you find unusual and suspicious - that might be helpful. The medical appointment is wrote down 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 drugs prescribed by your MD. Serious cases may take weeks and several specialists to cope with and the patient is likely to be hospitalized.

Medicine today is a part of health care system of each powerful country. It is vital to ensure that every personality 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 physicians. Well-trained nurses, paramedics and emergency medical technicians help their individuals 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 humans. That is exactly why medical specialty in universities should meet the highest standards of education achievable! 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 doc 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 MDs were subjects to professional, civil or criminal sanctions. Fortunately, cases like that are seldom and as a rule individuals 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!