League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
In 1919, the national Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies united into an international federation - the League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (LOCC and KP). Its goal is to contribute to the development of National Societies - members of the federation, to coordinate their activities at the international level and to promote the creation of new National Societies.
The Union of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of the USSR (reorganized in 1992) became a member of the LOKK and KP in 1934 and took an active part in the activities of the League and the bodies it created.
Currently, LOCC and KP unite more than 150 National Societies with a total number of members - more than 250 million people.
The main goal of the LOCC and the CP, enshrined in its Charter, is to inspire, support, develop the humanitarian activities of National Societies in order to prevent and alleviate human suffering and, thus, contribute to the maintenance and strengthening of world peace.
The Union of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of our country provides practical assistance to the health care of various countries of the world; organizes Red Cross hospitals in foreign countries; sends its medical teams and humanitarian aid to the population of the countries suffering from natural disasters, accidents, as well as military operations; carries out work to search for its own and foreign citizens and restore contact with them; participates in the development and improvement of the norms of international humanitarian law.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is one of the largest specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). April 7, 1948, the day of ratification of the Charter of the Organization by 26 UN member states, is considered the day of the official establishment of WHO. As the main goal of the Organization, the WHO Charter proclaimed service to the humane idea - "the achievement by all peoples of the highest possible level of health."
The emergence of cooperation between different countries in the field of healthcare is due to the need for international harmonization of measures for the sanitary protection of the territories of states in connection with recurrent epidemics and pandemics. This was most clearly manifested in the period of the classical Middle Ages, when specific measures against epidemics in Europe began to be applied (quarantines, infirmaries, outposts, etc.). The low efficiency of sanitary and anti-epidemic measures taken at the national level made it necessary to look for a solution to the problem on an interstate basis.
The first Pan American Sanitary Conference took place in December 1902 in Washington. The conference created a permanent body - the International (Pan American) Sanitary Bureau, which since 1958 has been known as the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) -Pan-AmericanHealthOrganization (RANO).
Another important step towards the development of international health care was the creation in 1907 in Paris of the International Bureau of Public Hygiene (IBOH) - a permanent international organization whose tasks included: “collecting and bringing to the attention of the participating countries facts and documents of a general nature related to public health, especially infectious diseases such as cholera, plague and yellow fever, and the collection and dissemination of information on measures to combat these diseases. The MBOG was also involved in the development of international conventions and agreements in the field of health care, monitoring their implementation, issues of ship hygiene, water supply, food hygiene, resolving international quarantine disputes and studying "national sanitary and quarantine legislation. Russia participated in the establishment of the MBOG and had its own permanent So, in 1926, A. N. Sysin was appointed permanent representative of our country in the MBOG.
The Health Organization of the League of Nations (OLN) was established after the First World War in 1923 due to the sharp deterioration of the epidemic situation in Europe and the widespread pandemics and epidemics of typhoid, cholera, smallpox and other infectious diseases. The scope of its activities was much wider, . than the range of issues dealt with by the MBOG. The goal of the Health Organization of the League of Nations was "to take all measures of international scope for the prevention and control of disease."
The main areas of work of the OZLN were: coordination and stimulation of scientific research on the most pressing public health problems, the creation of international standards for biological and medicinal products, the development of an international classification of diseases and causes of death, the unification of national pharmacopoeias, the fight against the most dangerous and common diseases, and the creation and development of organizational bases for an extensive system of global epidemiological information.
In 1946, the League of Nations, and with it its Health Organization, ceased to exist.
After World War II, the United Nations (UN), established in 1945 on the initiative of the victorious countries, became the leading organization of the international community. In February 1946, the UN conference decided on the need to create a specialized UN agency for health issues. After appropriate preparatory work, in June 1946, the International Conference on Health was convened in New York, which developed and adopted the Charter of the new international health organization - the World Health Organization-WHO (World Health Organization-WHO, Fig. 158).
The WHO Charter proclaimed the basic principles of cooperation between the Member States of the Organization, necessary "for happiness, harmonious relations among all peoples and for their security."
The Soviet Union was among the founding states of WHO and actively participated in the creation and implementation of the vast majority of WHO programs, sent specialists as experts, consultants and employees of WHO headquarters and its regional offices. The Soviet Union was the initiator of many important undertakings of the WHO. Thus, in 1958, at the suggestion of the Soviet delegation, the XI World Health Assembly adopted a program for the eradication of smallpox on earth.
Medicine in the countries of the Ancient East. Ancient India and Ancient China.
The ancient and original civilization of India developed in the III millennium BC. e. within the Hindustan subcontinent. In the history of healing in ancient India, three stages are clearly traced:
1) Indian civilization (23-18 century BC, Indus River valley), when the first slave-owning city-states in the history of ancient India were formed on the territory of modern Pakistan;
2) the Vedic period (18-6 BC, the valley of the Ganges), when with the advent of the Aryans the center of civilization moved to the eastern part of the subcontinent and the compilation of "sacred texts" began, transmitted over a long period in the oral tradition;
3) Buddhist (5-3 centuries BC) and classical period (2 century BC - 5 AD) - the time of the highest flowering of the traditional culture of ancient INDIA. the development of agriculture, crafts and trade, the rise of an original culture, the establishment and spread of Buddhism, success in various fields of knowledge, the widespread development of India's trade and cultural ties with the countries of the ancient world, which brought her fame as the "Country of the Wise Men".
Sanitation of the period of Indian civilization
In the second half of the III millennium BC. e. in the river basin Indus, a highly developed urban culture was formed, which later received the name - Indian civilization. Its characteristic features are the high level of sanitary improvement of cities. Drainpipes through the thickness of the wall went into the sewage system of the city. Each street and each alley had its own brick-lined sewage channel. Before entering the canals, sewage and sewage passed through settling tanks and cesspools covered with tightly ground covers. The construction of the sewage system is much more attention than the construction of residential buildings. The high sanitary condition of the ancient cities allows us to conclude that the level of empirical healing is also relatively high.
Medicine in the Vedic period
The center of civilization at this stage in the history of ancient India was the river. Ganges. Indications of medical knowledge have been preserved in the Rigveda and Atharvaveda. Three ailments are mentioned in the Rigveda: leprosy, consumption, and bleeding. Some sections of the Rigveda contain texts on magical healing rites. During the Vedic period, people worshiped medical deities. In ancient Indian mythology, there were also evil demons who brought misfortune, illness, ruin to people, and deprived them of offspring. Thus, in the Atharva Veda, diseases are either associated with evil spirits, or are regarded as a punishment of the gods; the cure of ailments was explained by the action of sacrifices, prayers and spells. At the same time, the Atharvaveda also reflects the practical experience of the people in the use of medicinal plants, the action of which at that time was understood as a healing force that counteracts evil spirits. At the end of the Vedic period, ancient Indian society was finally divided into four main classes: brahmins (i.e., a priest), kshatriyas (i.e., military nobility and members of royal families), vaishyas (i.e., mainly farmers and pastoralists) and sudras (sud-ga - disenfranchised poor). Each of the varnas consisted of many castes and podcasts. there was a fifth, lowest class - pariahs (untouchables), used in the most unpleasant and humiliating jobs.
Healing of the classical period
The main directions of traditional ancient Indian medicine of the classical period are reflected in two outstanding monuments of ancient Ayurvedic literature: Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samkhnta. The earlier Charaka Samhita is devoted to the treatment of internal diseases and contains information on more than 600 medicines vegetable, animal and mineral origin. Their use is reported in eight sections: treatment of wounds; treatment of diseases of the head area; treatment of diseases of the whole organism; treatment of mental illness; treatment of childhood diseases; antidotes; elixirs against senile decrepitude; drugs that increase sexual activity. "Sushruta-samhita" is mainly devoted to surgical treatment; it describes more than 300 operations, over 120 surgical instruments and at least 650 medicines. The knowledge of Indian healers about the structure of the human body was the most complete in the ancient world. The ancient Indians distinguished: membranes, ligaments, bones and their classification, tendons, joints, organs, nerves. During this period, elements of natural scientific knowledge were also revealed. Man was considered in close connection with the surrounding world from the five elements: earth, air, fire, water and ether. The different quality of objects was explained by the different combination of the smallest particles of anu ("atoms"). The vital activity of orgaism was considered through the interaction of three substances: air, fire and water (the carriers of which in the body were considered prana, bile and mucus). Health was understood as the result of a balanced ratio of three substances, the correct fulfillment of the vital functions of the body, the normal state of the sense organs and clarity of mind, and illness was understood as a violation of these correct ratios and the negative impact on a person of the five elements. Sushruta divided all diseases into natural, associated with nature, and supernatural, sent by the gods.
Diagnosis of diseases was based on a detailed questioning of the patient and the study of body heat, skin color and tongue, secretions, noises in the lungs, voices, etc. Sushruta describes sugar diabetes, which he determined by the taste of urine. Sushruta's treatise describes three stages of inflammation, the signs of which he considered: in the first period - minor pains; in the second - shooting pains, swelling, local heat, redness and dysfunction; in the third, the reduction of "swelling and the formation of pus. For the treatment of inflammation, Sushruta suggested local medicines and surgical methods.
The treatment was aimed at balancing the disturbed ratio of fluids (substances), which was achieved, firstly, by diet, secondly, by drug therapy (emetics, laxatives, diaphoretics, etc.), and thirdly, by surgical methods of treatment, in which the ancient Indians reached a high perfection. Only healers were engaged in the preparation of medicines, poisons and antidotes (for snake bites).
Obstetrics in ancient India was considered an independent field of healing. Sushruta's treatise details advice to pregnant women on maintaining cleanliness and a proper lifestyle, describes deviations from the normal course of childbirth, fetal deformity, embryotomy (which was recommended in cases where it was impossible to turn the fetus on a leg or head), caesarean section (used after the death of a woman in labor to save the baby ) and turning the fetus on the leg.
The art of surgical treatment (surgery) in ancient India was the highest in the ancient world. Sushruta considered surgery “the first and best of all medical sciences, a precious work of heaven. Still having no idea about antiseptics and asepsis, Indian healers, following the customs of their country, achieved careful cleanliness during operations. Surgical instruments were made by experienced blacksmiths from steel, which in India they learned to produce in ancient times, sharpened so that they could easily cut hair. The healers of ancient India carried out amputations of limbs, lithotomy, hernia repair, and plastic surgery. They “knew how to restore noses, ears and lips lost or crippled in battle or by court order. The method of rhinoplasty, described in detail in the treatise of Sushruta, went down in history under the name of the "Indian method". A skin flap for the formation of the future nose was cut on the vascular pedicle from the skin of the forehead or cheek.
In India, hygienic traditions have long been developed. Great importance was attached to personal hygiene, beauty and neatness of the body, cleanliness of the home, the influence of climate and seasons on people's health. Hygienic skills are enshrined in the "Regulations of Mlnu". Hygienic traditions contributed to the development of medical science. In the Mauryan Empire (IV-II centuries BC), there were strict rules that prohibited the discharge of sewage into the streets of the city and regulated the place and methods of burning the corpses of the dead; in doubtful cases of human death, an autopsy was ordered; the body of the deceased was examined and covered with special oil in order to prevent decomposition. Severe penalties were also established for mixing poisons in food, medicines and incense. During the time of Ashoka, almshouses and rooms for the sick were built.
A little later, they began to build special houses for the crippled, the crippled, widows, orphans and the sick.
The medicine of ancient India was closely connected with yoga. Much attention in yoga is paid to the purity of the body and a peculiar way of life. The doctrine of yoga consists of two levels: hatha yoga (physical yoga) and raja yoga (mastery of the spirit).
An important role in the development of medicine in ancient India was played by monasteries and monks, among whom there were many knowledgeable healers. All the monks had some knowledge in the field of medicine, since it was considered a high virtue to provide medical assistance to the laity.
Among the centers of medical education, the city of Taxila (ind. Takshashila) occupies a special place. A student of medicine had to master all facets of medical art. This sermon bears the characteristic features of its time, but in its main provisions it is very similar to the Oath of the ancient Greek healers.
The medical ethics of ancient India strictly demanded that the healer, “who wishes to be successful in practice, be healthy, neat, modest, patient, wear a short-cropped beard, diligently brushed, trimmed nails, white clothes scented with incense, leave the house only with a stick and an umbrella, in particular he avoided chatter ... ". Remuneration for treatment was forbidden to demand from the disadvantaged, friends of the doctor and brahmins; and the traditional Chinese art of healing, on the contrary, if wealthy people refused to pay for treatment, the healer was awarded all their property. For improper treatment, the healer paid a fine depending on the social status of the patient.
The medical knowledge of the ancient Hindus traditionally included information about the diseases of people, plants and animals. Medical writings contain detailed discussions about the youth and maturity of plants, about the treatment of their diseases during wakefulness and "drowsiness", the causes of wilting and falling leaves, about the influence of climate, wind and heat on plant health. It was prescribed to take care of the plant like a person: cover its roots with healing clay, pour water with milk. Describing the grafting of the shoots of one tree onto another is like describing surgical operations.
Traditionally, the system of medical knowledge of ancient India included veterinary medicine; medical treatises often contained recommendations for the treatment of livestock, especially cows. Many Indian drawings are known, in which hermits living in mountain huts are depicted surrounded by birds, snakes and various animals, mountains and forests.
For the first time in the century AD, hospitals were opened in India not only for people, but also for animals. Later, special writings appeared on the treatment of horses and elephants. Indian writings on veterinary medicine were translated into Arabic in the Middle Ages and spread to various countries of the East.
It was believed that the forgiveness of Varuna could bring sacrifices and magic spells, as well as the performance of "hymns of healing." Here is a fragment of one of them: “You have a hundred, a thousand medicines, O king. In your waters is the nectar of immortality, in them is the mighty power of healing. Varuna, endowed with colossal power, personified not only the forces of nature, but also justice. Appeals to him, known as the "repentant hymns" of the Rigveda, are imbued with the spirit of repentance and a thirst for forgiveness: "Do not allow me, O king, to suffer for the sins of others!" As the highest happiness, friendship with a deity is sung in them, which takes a person into his heavenly boat:
“When the two of us go up to the ship: Varuna and I, When we take the ship to the middle of the ocean, When we move along the surface of the waters, We will swing together on a swing ...”
"The waters are full of healing, the waters drive out sickness." says the Atharva Veda. It was believed that the demons, whose invasion into the human psyche the Hindus explained mental illness, mental disorders and loss of reason, after the recovery of a person go into the water. According to Hindu beliefs, the waters of the sacred river Ganges cleanse from sins, relieve diseases.
The ancient Indian myth speaks of a golden age, when people lived indefinitely and did not eat earthly food. But one person somehow ate a substance that appeared on the surface of the earth and fell ill. Hearing his wailing, Brahma advised him to drink water, and the man was cured. Since then, Brahma has been considered the first physician, and water the first medicine.
Water treatment was characteristic of the medical teachings of different countries. Ancient authors wrote that Egyptian priests cured even serious diseases with the help of water. After the translation of Indian medical texts into Arabic, this method of treatment was widely used in oriental medicine. The great ruler of India, Babur (1483-1530), in his memoirs (“The Book of Babur” or “Babur-name”), recalled how he was treated by court doctors during the siege of Samarkand: “... I fell ill very seriously, so my tongue was taken away for four days, and they gave me water drop by drop from a piece of cotton ... Those who remained with me ... lost hope that I would survive ... After four or five days, my situation improved a little, but the tongue-tiedness remained, and a few days later I returned to my usual state.
Ancient legends tell that Brahma himself did not invent anything during the treatment, but simply recalled the ancient medical texts told to him. So it was, for example, during the battle between the gods and demons, when Brahma was wounded in the cheek. The pain was so intense that he lost consciousness. When he woke up, he remembered the ancient medical text and cured himself.
In accordance with the natural philosophy of the Hindus, all three elements have both an organic and a cosmic aspect. For example, the wind in nature is the carrier of light, coolness; invisible, it carries within itself powerful secret forces. In the human body, the wind correlates with systems associated with movement: this is, first of all, the nervous system, as well as blood circulation, digestion, excretion and metabolism. Bile is represented in nature by fire, and in the body it regulates "natural heat" and maintains a constant body temperature. It provides the activity of the heart, the main source of "natural warmth", or "warmth within the body." So called the heat that occurs in the process of digestion and proper metabolism. Its source is "life-giving juices" obtained with food. Phlegm in human nature is associated with soft substances and is considered to be like a lubricating oil that coats solid substances.
In the Indian doctrine of "life-giving juices" that maintain body heat, the hematopoietic function of the spleen is indicated: these juices, passing through the liver and spleen, turn pink and turn into blood. Further, from the blood arise the five bases of the organism - flesh, fat, bones, marrow and semen.
Vedic texts contain references to various diseases of the eyes, ears, heart, stomach, lungs, skin, muscles and nervous system. About three hundred different parts and organs of the human body are listed. A sudden illness is considered a manifestation of an evil inclination, coming either from demons or from worms penetrating the body. Great importance is attached to diet, with milk, honey and rice occupying a special place in dietary prescriptions. Later medical writings called milk a sacred drink, which preserved the strength and mind of a person, protected from diseases. Honey has traditionally been part of prescription drugs that cure many diseases. It was considered the main antidote for poisoning with mineral, plant and animal poisons.
In the mythology of ancient India, bees occupied a place of honor, since the god Vishnu, personifying the sky and the life of the universe, was often depicted as a small bee resting in a cup of a lotus flower. Honey as a nutritious and delicious food has attracted the attention of people since ancient times. Among the Stone Age drawings, there is an image of a man surrounded by bees extracting honey from a tree hollow.
Often, extracts of medicinal plants were used for the preparation of medicines. Their parts corresponded with the three elements. Thus, stems and branches corresponded to water, since liquid juices pass through them, flowers to fire, which has light and color, leaves to air, setting the plant in motion. The healing properties of Indian medicines prepared on the basis of plants were known far beyond the borders of Ancient India: they were transported by sea and land trade routes to the Mediterranean, Central Asia and China, and to many other countries of the Ancient World. The best medicinal plants were brought from the Himalayas.
The harmonious combination of air, fire and water is observed only in a few people. In most, one thing predominates, but this does not yet entail a disease. Many reasons can lead to imbalance between the elements, first of all - unrighteous actions. Uncleanliness, overeating lead to contamination of the body, are the causes of many diseases, make a person defenseless against temptations.
If, due to unfavorable circumstances, one of the elements in the body begins to predominate excessively, illness sets in. The doctor's task is to restore health to the patient, bringing all the elements into the necessary balance. Carriers of air, fire and water in the human body were considered respectively prana, bile and mucus.
In the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. in the river basin Indus formed the oldest civilization in South Asia. It goes back to the name of one of the rivers in the north-west of the country - Sindhu (Sindhu), which the Iranians called Hindu (Hindu), and the Greeks - Indos (Indos). From here came the name of the people - "Indians" and their country - "Country of the Indians". Currently, modern states are located on its territory: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal.
The heyday of the Indus culture falls on the end of the 3rd - the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. Its characteristic features are monumental architecture, planned development of cities, a high level of their sanitary improvement, the development of artificial irrigation, crafts, and writing.
Periodization of medical history:
1) Indian civilization (XXIII - XVIII centuries BC, Indus River valley) - proto-Indian civilization, the oldest in South Asia.
2) the Vedic period (XIII-VI centuries BC, the Ganges river valley).
3) Buddhist (V - III centuries BC) and classical (II century BC - V century AD).
characteristic features of the sanitary business of the period The Indian civilizations are:
1. monumental architecture,
2. planned development of cities,
3. high level of their sanitary improvement,
4. development of artificial irrigation,
5. development of crafts (ceramics, metal and stone products),
6. creation of proto-Indian writing.
By the size of the territory, the level of urban construction, sanitary improvement, etc. Indus culture significantly surpassed the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia of the corresponding period.
The construction of cities in the Indus Valley was carried out according to a predetermined plan. In different parts of the city there were wells lined with burnt bricks. Residential houses were also built of burnt bricks. Drainpipes through the thickness of the walls went into the sewage system of the city. No other ancient civilization, even the Roman one, had such a perfect drainage system.
At the same time, the splendor of the sanitary facilities of the Indus civilization does not characterize the general level of sanitary construction in Ancient India as a whole - in subsequent periods of the history of Ancient India, it decreased significantly.
Its causes, according to researchers, were internal phenomena (floods, droughts, depletion of internal resources), the penetration of more backward tribes into the Indus Valley.
Intelligence about the healing of the Vedic period are very limited. Thus, only three ailments are mentioned in the Rigveda: leprosy, consumption, and bleeding. Some sections of the Rigveda contain texts about the rituals of magical healing - the healing knowledge of the Vedic period was closely intertwined with religious beliefs and magical rites.
In the Vedic religion, there are mythological characters who are directly or indirectly associated with ideas about healing, health and illness. Important deities were considered Agni - the god of fire, hearth, mediator between gods and people, and Surya - the deity of the Sun and the all-seeing eye of the gods. The main deity of the Vedic religion was considered Indra - the god of thunder and lightning, the king (raja) of the gods, the generous patron of people; the embodiment of strength, courage and fertility. Along with good deities in ancient Indian mythology, there were also evil spirits and demons: asuras and rakshasas - enemies of gods and people, as well as pichashas - who brought misfortune, illness, ruin and deprived of offspring.
These ideas are reflected in the Atharva Veda. On the one hand, it shows the empirical experience of the people in the use of medicinal plants, the action of which was understood as a healing force that counteracts evil spirits. On the other hand, diseases in the Atharvaveda are associated with evil spirits or are regarded as a punishment of the gods; and the cure of ailments is explained by the action of sacrifices, prayers and spells.
ancient healers so they were called bhishaj("exorcist"). This name was retained for them in the later periods of the history of ancient India, when the healer-caster turned into a healer-healer. Over time, ideas about the causes of diseases have also changed. Thus, the Yajurveda mentions the juices of the body.
Only representatives of the three highest varnas had the right to engage in healing and study the Vedas - brahmamas (knowing sacred teachings, i.e. priest), kshatriyas (endowed with power, i.e. military nobility and members of royal families - the ruling class, the historical Buddha was a kshatriya) , vaishyas (a free community member, i.e. mainly farmers, cattle breeders, merchants). Shudras and pariahs: practically had no rights. They were not allowed to listen and repeat the Vedas.
By the beginning of our era in ancient India, a highly developed traditional healing system - Ayurveda (ayurveda - the doctrine of long life).
Ayurveda, or Ayurvedic medicine, uses the natural medicines of the region, based on the national philosophical tradition. For two thousand years, it has been successfully developed and highly valued in India and beyond.
In ancient times, the outstanding figures of traditional Indian medicine were the legendary healers Charaka (I-II centuries AD) and Sushruta (about IV century AD) - the authors of two classic Ayurvedic treatises: "Charaka Samhita" (dated from I-II centuries AD), which describes the treatment of internal diseases, and "Sushruta Samhita" (dated from the 4th century AD), which is largely devoted to surgical healing.
Representation about the structure of the human body in ancient India were the most complete in ancient history. The study of corpses in ancient India was not forbidden by religion and was easily bathed in cleansing baths, touching a sacred cow or looking at the sun.
According to Sushruta, Indian healers believed that the human body consists of six members (head, torso and four limbs), seven membranes, 500 muscles, 900 ligaments, 90 tendons, 300 bones, including teeth and cartilage), which were divided into flat, round long , 107 joints, 40 main vessels and 700 of their branches (for blood, mucus and air), 24 nerves, nine sense organs and three fluids (mucus of bile and air). Some areas (palm, soles, testicles, inguinal regions, etc.) were highlighted as especially important. Their damage was considered life-threatening. At the same time, the ancient Indians did not have a clear idea about the purpose of the brain and believed that the seat of the mind is the heart (the ancient Egyptians had similar ideas).
The knowledge of Indian healers in the field of the structure of the human body played a significant role in the development of ancient Indian surgery.
Ideas about the causes of diseases in the classical period, the history of ancient India changed somewhat. Healers began to move away from the supernatural understanding of the disease that dominated the Vedic period. Man was considered in close connection with the surrounding world, which, according to the ancient Indians, consisted of five elements: earth, air, fire, water and ether. The vital activity of the organism was considered through the interaction of three substances: air, fire and water, the carriers of which in the body were considered to be three primary fluids: wind, bile and mucus (mucus is above the heart, bile is between the navel and the heart, air is below the navel). From the five elements and three fluids, seven organic products that make up the human body are formed: blood - the first source of life, muscles, fat, bones, brain and male seed.
The wind in nature is the carrier of light, coolness, sound spreading in space, quickly rushing streams. Inside the human body, the Wind controls blood circulation, digestion, excretion, and even metabolism, which involves the active movement of complex molecular biochemical complexes. Accelerating or slowing down the "movement of juices and substances" through the Wind disrupts the normal vital activity of the organism.
Bile is represented in nature by fire, and in the body it causes "natural heat", maintains body temperature and ensures the activity of the digestive organs and the activity of the heart muscle.
Phlegm in space and man was associated with all sorts of "soft" substances. It has been compared to a lubricating oil that coats all solid and rough substances and facilitates their movement and interaction.
With any disturbances in the action of wind, bile and mucus, a disease occurs. It is all the more dangerous and difficult, the deeper the harmony between the three primary elements is broken. And the doctor restores health, bringing all three primary elements into the necessary balance through strictly prescribed medical indications.
Sushruta divided all diseases into natural, related to nature (for example, air causes 80 diseases, bile - 40, mucus - 30), and supernatural, sent by the gods (leprosy, venereal and other contagious diseases, the causes of which were still impossible to understand at that time). ).
Diagnosis of diseases was based on a detailed survey of the patient and the study of body heat, skin color and tongue, discharge, noise in the lungs, voice characteristics, etc. Sushruta describes sugar diabetes, which he determined by the taste of urine.
Treatment of internal diseases most fully presented in the treatise "Charaka Samhita", which contains information on more than 600 medicinal products of plant, animal and mineral origin. Their use is reported in eight sections: treatment of wounds; treatment of diseases of the head area; treatment of diseases of the whole organism; treatment of mental illness; treatment of childhood diseases; antidotes; elixirs against senile decrepitude; drugs that increase sexual activity.
The tactics of treatment in Ancient India, as in other countries of the Ancient World, was determined, first of all, by the curability or incurability of the disease. With a favorable prognosis, the healer took into account the characteristics of the disease, the season, age, temperament, strength and mind of the patient (they said that “fools are more easily cured, because they follow the advice more accurately”).
The treatment was aimed at restoring the disturbed ratio of fluids (substances), which was achieved, firstly, by diet, secondly, by drug therapy (vomiting, laxatives, diaphoretics, etc.) and thirdly, by surgical methods of treatment, in which ancient Indians have reached a high perfection.
Only healers were involved in the preparation of medicines, poisons and antidotes (for snake bites).
The art of surgical treatment (surgery) in ancient India, in terms of its skill and effectiveness, it was the highest in the ancient world (it was famous in all countries and in the Middle Ages).
Sushruta considered surgery "the first and best of all medical sciences, a precious work of heaven, a sure source of glory". The Sushruta Samhita describes more than 300 operations, over 120 surgical instruments and at least 750 herbal medicines, among which there is not a single remedy of European origin.
Still without scientific knowledge about antisepsis and asepsis, Indian healers, following the customs of their country, have achieved careful observance of cleanliness during operations.
Surgical instruments were made by experienced blacksmiths from steel, which they learned to produce in India in ancient times. They were stored in special wooden boxes.
Wounds were bandaged linen, silk and woolen fabrics soaked in melted cow butter, as well as bandages made of leather and palm bark. Used for seams linen and tendon threads and horsehair.
The healers of Ancient India performed amputations of limbs, laparotomies, stone, hernia repair, plastic surgery, stitched wounds on the head, face, and even the windpipe. The plastic surgeries of the ancient Indians deserve special attention. They “knew how to restore noses, ears and lips lost or crippled in battle or by sentence. In this area, Indian surgery was ahead of European surgery until the 18th century.
In ancient Indian texts, the operation of removing a clouded lens - a cataract - was also described for the first time. Sushruta described 76 eye diseases and their treatment.
obstetrics in ancient India it was considered an independent field of healing. Sushruta's treatise details advice to pregnant women on cleanliness and proper living; deviations from the normal course of labor, fetal deformity, caesarean section (used after the death of a woman in labor to save the baby), fetal rotation on a leg and embryotomy (which was recommended in cases of impossibility of turning the fetus on a leg or head) are described.
Hygienic traditions long developed in ancient India. The first attempts were made to prevent contagious diseases, including smallpox. Great importance was attached to personal hygiene, beauty, neatness of the body, cleanliness of the home, the influence of climate and seasons on human health.
Empirically developed hygiene skills are also enshrined in the "Laws of Manu":
“One should never eat food ... of the sick, neither on which the hair of insects turned out, nor deliberately touched by the foot ... nor pecked by a bird, nor touched by a dog.”
“Let him not bathe either after eating, or when he is sick, or in the middle of the night ... or in an untested pond” -
“It is necessary to remove urine, water used for washing feet, leftover food and water used in cleansing rites far from the dwelling.”
“In the morning you need to get dressed, bathe, brush your teeth, rub your eyes with collyrium and honor the gods.”
“Having cut hair, nails and a beard, humble, in white clothes, clean, let him always be engaged in the study of the Vedas and deeds useful to him,” etc.
In cities and villages, it was forbidden to throw sewage into the streets. The places and methods of burning the corpses of the dead were regulated. In doubtful cases of human death, an examination (autopsy) was prescribed; the body of the deceased was examined and covered with special oil in order to prevent decomposition. Severe penalties were also established for mixing poisons in food, medicines and incense.
Urban planning in the classical period of Indian history did not reach the high level that distinguished the ancient Indus civilization.
In ancient India, earlier than in Western Europe, almshouses (at Buddhist temples) and rooms for the sick - dharmashala (hospital) appeared.
Physician position in ancient India was not the same at the stages of history. In the Vedic period, the practice of medicine was not reprehensible. In the final period of the history of the Ancient World, with the development of the caste system and social inequality, the tendency to consider certain occupations as ritually "unclean" and those engaged in them as untouchable intensified. This applied to those caring for horses and chariots, carpenters, healers (in all likelihood, those who were involved in surgery and were associated with ritual "impurity"), conjurers, acrobats, dancers, etc. Nevertheless, in general, the practice of medicine is spoken of with great respect in the ancient texts.
An important role in the development of healing in ancient India was played by monasteries and monks, among whom there were many knowledgeable healers. All the monks had some knowledge in the field of medicine, since it was considered a high virtue to provide medical assistance to the laity.
Medicine in ancient India was closely connected with religious and philosophical teachings, among which a special place is occupied by yoga. She combined religious philosophy, moral and ethical teachings and a system of posture exercises. Much attention in yoga is paid to the purity of the body and a peculiar way of life.
Among medical education centers Taxila occupied a special place in ancient India. A student of medicine had to master all the facets of medical art: “A doctor, inexperienced in operations, comes to a patient’s bed with confusion, like a cowardly soldier who first got into battle; a doctor who knows only how to operate and neglects theoretical information does not deserve respect and can endanger even the lives of kings. Each of them owns only half of his art and is like a bird with only one wing,” says the Sushruta Samhita.
At the end of the training, the teacher gives a sermon to his students, which is given in the Charaka Samhita.
“If you want to achieve success in your activities, wealth and fame and heaven after death, you should pray every day, rising from sleep and going to sleep, for the well-being of all beings, especially cows and brahmins, and you should wholeheartedly strive for healing sick.
You must not betray your patients even at the cost of your own life...
You must not drink, you must not do evil or have evil companions...
Your speech should be pleasant...
You must be reasonable, always strive to improve your knowledge.
When you go to the home of the sick, you must direct your words, thoughts, mind and feelings to nothing else but to your sick person and his treatment ...
Nothing that happens in the house of a sick person should be told elsewhere, and the condition of the sick person should not be told to anyone who, using the knowledge gained, could harm the sick person or another.
The Raja gave the right to practice medicine. He also controlled the activities of healers and compliance with medical ethics.
medical ethics Ancient India strictly demanded that the healer, “who wants to be successful in practice, be healthy, neat, modest, patient, wear a short-cropped beard, diligently brushed, trimmed nails, white clothes scented with incense, leave the house only with a stick and an umbrella, in particular avoided chatter ... ".
Remuneration for treatment was forbidden to demand from the disadvantaged, friends of the doctor and brahmins; and vice versa, if wealthy people refused to pay for treatment, the healer was awarded their property. For improper treatment, the healer paid a fine depending on the social status of the patient.
Unlike the great civilizations of the Middle East (Mesopotamia and Egypt), the Indian civilization (like the Chinese) did not die - it continued its progressive development after the era of the Ancient World. In the Middle Ages, Indian doctors were famous all over the world, and Indian medicine had and continues to have a great influence on the development of medicine in various regions of the globe.
Similar information.
By the end of the IV - the beginning of the III millennium BC. e. in India, a slave-owning system developed, the remnants of the patriarchal community persisted for a long time.
The population of slave-owning India was divided into castes: Brahmins - priests; warriors - kshatriyas, free peasants, artisans and merchants - vaishyas, slaves - sudras, dasa - a completely disenfranchised caste, obliged "with humility" to serve the rest. Not only marriages, but also other forms of communication (for example, joint food) between people of privileged castes and ordinary people, between free and slaves were banned and punished.
Sources for the Study of Ancient Indian Medicine are: the code of laws of Manu (1000-500 BC), "Vedas" - collections of everyday and religious prescriptions, often in artistic form, works of folk epic, the laws of Manu, which have come down to us in later alterations of the first centuries AD. e. According to the laws of Manu, a doctor for unsuccessful treatment was subject to a fine, the amount of which was determined by the caste position of the patient. The position of the doctor in the Hindu slave society is outlined in the Rig Veda: "Our desires are different: the carter craves firewood, the doctor craves diseases, and the priest craves sacrificial libations." Health was considered the result of a normal combination of the three principles of the body: air (gaseous, similar to the "pneuma" of the ancient Greeks), mucus and bile. The three organic principles were considered to be closely related to the basic elements or elements of nature.
The strong side of medicine in ancient India was the elements of hygiene. The laws of Manu cover many issues of hygiene: the influence of climate and seasons on health, cleanliness in the home, personal hygiene, gymnastics, nutrition, moderation in food, early rising, oral hygiene, bathing, neatness in clothes, cutting hair and nails. The Laws of Manu condemned satiation, restricted the consumption of meat, and recommended fresh plant foods, as well as milk and honey.
Attention was paid to the cleanliness of the dishes. Rules for caring for the body were carefully developed: brushing teeth with brushes and powders, bathing, rubbing the body, changing clothes, etc. It was proposed to take food leftovers, dirty water, urine, and excrement far from home. Hygiene regulations applied primarily to the privileged castes, to a lesser extent to those subordinate to them, and did not mean slaves at all.
Along with personal hygiene, there were also elements of public hygiene. During excavations in Mahenjo-Daro (in north-western India), related to the end of the 4th - the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC were discovered. e. traces of the improvement of a large ancient Indian city: a city sewer was organized, and the main lines of these pipes reached a diameter of 2 m. Each house had a pool.
Religion in India, first Brahminism, later replaced by Buddhism, as in other countries, had a strong influence on medicine.
Therefore, in the texts of the Vedas that have come down to us (in their later edition) and in most other documents devoted to medicine, prayers, incantations, etc. are attached to proper medical moments. Materialistic thought in Ancient India was inextricably linked with the rudiments of natural science. There is direct evidence that the ancient Indians had some medical ideas similar to those later followed by Hippocrates.
The source of information on the medicine of ancient India is the written monument of Ayurveda (“Knowledge of Life”), the compilation of which dates back to the 9th-3rd centuries BC. e. There are three editions of Ayurveda. The most complete edition was written by the physician Sushruta. His book is an extensive encyclopedia of medical knowledge, where, along with a reflection of priestly medicine, there are elements of rational medicine based on the centuries-old experience of the people.
The causes of diseases were recognized not only as the wrath of the gods, but also as a change in climate and weather, a violation of the diet, and the rules of personal hygiene.
The doctor questioned the patient, examined him, felt him, paid attention to the color and temperature of the skin, the condition of the tongue, examined the color and smell of the compartments.
Ayurveda describes signs of more than 150 acute and chronic, general and local diseases of the brain, heart, abdomen, urinary and genital organs, joints and other parts of the body. Along with dietary advice, recommendations for massages and baths, 760 medicinal plants are described. Means of animal origin were used (milk, lard, brain, bile).
Of the mineral substances, mercury was most often used. In Indian medicine, drugs were distributed according to their action. Diaphoretics, emetics, laxatives, diuretics, narcotic and stimulants were known, which were used in various forms and in different ways (powders, pills, infusions, tinctures, decoctions, ointments, rubbing, fumigation, inhalation, dousing). When prescribing drugs, the seasons, the weather, the patient's physique, his temperament, gender, age, and the nature of the disease were taken into account.
More than 120 surgical instruments are described in Ayurveda. Doctors of ancient India knew how to perform many surgical operations: bloodletting, amputation, hernia repair, lithotomy, laparotomy, cataract removal, plastic surgery on the face to compensate for defects in the ears, nose and lips (“Indian method”), they knew a number of obstetric techniques (turning the fetus on the leg and head, craniotomy and embryotomy operations). A description of the classic signs of inflammation (redness, swelling, fever, pain and dysfunction) attributed to the Roman author K. Celsus is given in Ayurveda. It also describes the methods of treating wounds with oil-soaked dressings and pouring boiling liquids on wounds, which were widespread later in the era of feudalism in Europe, as well as acupuncture treatment specific to Chinese medicine.
Among the Indians, the autopsy of corpses was not pursued, but the methods of anatomy were imperfect. The corpse was subjected to maceration during the day in running water. After that, the soaked parts were successively scraped off with a brush or bark, or the process of natural decomposition was simply observed. The anatomical terms found in the Vedas indicate the presence of inaccurate anatomical knowledge (including about the brain and spinal cord).
India is one of the oldest centers of civilization that emerged at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. in the valley of the Indus River. Its original culture is not inferior to the culture of Ancient Egypt and the states of Mesopotamia.
Ancient India is often called the country of sages, and this is a great merit of healers, whose fame has spread far beyond the borders of the country. Buddhist traditions have preserved the glory of the three most famous healers of antiquity - Jivak, Charak and Sushruta.
The art of healing called "Ayurveda" (which means "the doctrine of long life") reached its greatest perfection in that period of history, when the center of ancient Indian civilization moved from the Indus River valley to the Gangang River valley. At the end of this period, outstanding monuments of Ayurvedic literature were written - "Charvaka-samhita" and "Sushruta-samhita". An earlier first book is devoted to the treatment of internal diseases and contains information on more than 600 Indian medicines. The second is a treatise on surgery, which describes more than 300 operations, more than 120 medical instruments and more than 650 medicines.
The art of surgical treatment in India was the highest in the history of the ancient world - not a single people of antiquity achieved such perfection in this area. Information about the structure of the human body in India was the most complete in the ancient world, because it was the only country where there were no religious prohibitions on the autopsy of the dead. Therefore, the knowledge of doctors in the field of anatomy was very significant and played a big role in the formation and development of ancient Indian surgery.
Indian surgeons, having no idea about asepsis and antiseptics, managed to achieve meticulous cleanliness during operations. They were distinguished by courage, dexterity and excellent command of tools. Surgical instruments were made by experienced blacksmiths from steel, which they learned to produce in India in ancient times. The tools were kept in special wooden boxes and sharpened so sharply that they could cut hair.
According to the medical texts that have come down to us, the doctors of ancient India performed amputations, stone cuts, herniotomies, and plastic surgeries on the face. They were able to restore ears, noses, lips, lost or crippled in battle or by court order. In this area, Indian surgery was ahead of European surgery until the 18th century, and European surgeons even learned from Indians the art of rhinoplasty (i.e., the restoration of a lost nose). This method, described in detail in the treatise of Sushruta, went down in history under the name of the “Indian method”.
The operation to remove a cataract, i.e., a clouded lens of the eye, was just as jewelry. I must say that the lens in ancient India was considered one of the most important parts of the body, so this operation was given special importance. In addition to cataracts, 75 more eye diseases and methods of their treatment were described in Sushruta's treatise.
The ancient Indians considered man in close connection with the surrounding world, which, in their opinion, consisted of "five elements" - earth, air, fire, water, esrir. The vital activity of the organism was considered through the interaction of "three substances" - air, fire, water, the carriers of which in the body were considered "three fluids" (mucus, bile and air). In accordance with this, health was understood as the result of a uniform mixing of fluids and a balanced ratio of three substances, the correct fulfillment of the vital functions of the body, the normal state of the senses and clarity of mind, and illness - as a violation of these correct ratios; accordingly, the tactics of treatment was aimed primarily at restoring the disturbed balance. For this purpose, diet, evacuating agents (emetics, laxatives, diaphoretics) and surgical methods of treatment were widely used.
Diagnosis of ancient Indian doctors was based on a survey of the patient, the study of body temperature, skin color and tongue, the nature of the discharge, the timbre of the voice, and noises in the lungs.
Sushruta describes sugar diabetes, which he determined by the taste of urine and which was not known even to the ancient Greeks.
Obstetrics was considered a special area of healing among the Indians. Sushruta's treatise details advice to pregnant women on maintaining cleanliness and a proper lifestyle, describes deviations from the normal course of childbirth, fetal deformity, methods for extracting the fetus in its wrong position, a caesarean section (which was used only after the death of a woman in labor to save the baby).
Great importance in ancient India was given to hygiene, both public (beautification of dwellings and populated areas, the creation of water supply, sewerage and other sanitary facilities), and personal (beauty and neatness of the body, cleanliness of the home). Hygienic habits were enshrined in the "Regulations of Manu":
"... You should never eat the food of the sick, neither one on which hair or insects turned out, nor deliberately touched by the foot ... nor pecked by a bird, nor touched by a dog.
It is necessary to remove urine, water used for washing the feet, leftover food and water used in cleansing ceremonies far from the dwelling.
In the morning you need to get dressed, bathe, brush your teeth, wipe your eyes and honor the gods.
The traditions of ancient Indian medicine are enshrined in the rules of medical ethics. The Raja gave the right to practice medicine in India. He closely followed the activities of doctors and the observance of medical ethics, which required that the healer, "who wants to be successful in
In practice, he was healthy, neat, modest, patient, wore a short-cropped beard, diligently cleaned, trimmed nails, white clothes scented with incense, left the house only with a stick or an umbrella, and especially avoided chatter ... "
Incorrect treatment was especially severely pursued. According to the “Regulations of Manu” that existed at that time, a doctor paid a low fine for improper treatment of animals, an average fine for improper treatment of middle-class people, and a high fine for royal officials. It was forbidden to demand a reward for treatment from the disadvantaged, friends of the healer and brahmins (clergymen); and vice versa, if wealthy people refused to pay for treatment, the doctor was awarded all their property.
So, what is new in the medicine of the slave-owning society in comparison with the medicine of the primitive communal system?
* On the basis of traditional medicine, temple medicine arises
* Traditional medicine develops into professional,
professional doctors occupy a prominent place in society and receive recognition from the state
* The first family medical schools appear, in which the head of the family, who has medical experience, passes it on to his children. Each school has its own secret medicines and medical practices. The material accumulates, it becomes more and more difficult to keep it in the head, and therefore it is written on papyri and clay tablets, which can be considered the first medical literature in the history of mankind.
* There is an accumulation of data on the structure of the human body
* Completely new ideas about the causes of diseases appear
* The theoretical foundations of medicine are born
* Ideas about human nature are changing
* Improving the treatment of internal diseases
* Develops hygiene activities
Thus, the peoples inhabiting the territory of the Ancient East possessed considerable knowledge and practical skills in the field of therapy, surgery, obstetrics, hygiene, and the medicinal use of medicinal plants. Ancient physicians received new information about the structure of the human body, changed their ideas about human nature, developed unique forms of medical care, and thus had a great influence on the further development of medicine.
