A brief history of medicine. International student scientific bulletin Stages of development of medicine as a science

The term “medicine” is literally translated from Latin as “medical”, “healing”. This is the science of the human body in its healthy and pathological states, as well as methods of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of various diseases. Thus, it cannot be said that this is exclusively a system of scientific knowledge, since practical activity is an important component.

The history of medicine began with the history of mankind - when a disease appeared, people always sought to find a way to eliminate it. However, at present it is difficult to judge what skills healers possessed in the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras, as well as in later times - until writing appeared. Therefore, historical conclusions can only be drawn on the basis of treatises found by archaeologists. In particular, the code of laws of Hammurabi, which mentions the rules of work for doctors, as well as the observations of Herodotus, describing medical activities in Babylonia, are of great value.

Initially, healers were priests, so healing was considered part of religion. Pathological processes, inexplicable by the knowledge available at that time, were associated with punishment from the gods, so diseases were often treated only by expelling demons and similar rituals. But already in Ancient Greece, attempts were made to study the human body, for example, Hippocrates made a great contribution to medical science, in addition, it was there that the first educational institutions for doctors were opened.

During the Middle Ages, scientists continued the ancient tradition, but significant contributions were also made to the development of medicine. Thus, the works of Avicenna, Rhazes and other physicians became the foundation of modern science. Later, the authorities of antiquity were questioned, for example, by the experiments of Francis Bacon. This became the impetus for the development of such disciplines as anatomy and physiology. A more precise study of the body and its work has made it possible to better understand the causes and mechanisms of many diseases. Most of the knowledge was obtained through autopsy of corpses and studying the structural features of internal organs.

Further discoveries in the field of diagnosis, treatment, and disease prevention were associated with general scientific and technological progress. In particular, in the 19th century, thanks to the invention of the microscope, it became possible to study cells and their pathologies. The emergence of such science as genetics played a revolutionary role.

Today, doctors have at their disposal not only thousands of years of experience and the latest developments, but also modern equipment and effective drugs, without which it is impossible to imagine either accurate diagnosis or effective therapy. However, despite such progress, many questions still remain open; scientists have yet to answer them.

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This article presents the history of the development and formation of one of the fundamental branches of medicine - occupational medicine. Its foundations began to be laid in the distant past. Even then, the man noticed how working conditions affected his health. The great minds of antiquity - Hippocrates, Galen - made the first attempts to describe the diseases of workers and identify the factors that had a detrimental effect on them. But the founder of science is rightly called B. Ramazzini, an Italian doctor who systematized previously accumulated knowledge and identified a number of occupational diseases. As for our compatriots, F.F. Erisman and A.P. Dobroslavin assessed working conditions, described the clinic of occupational diseases and went down in history as the creators of a set of sanitary standards for the design of workplaces. Physiologists I.M. Sechenov N.E. Vvedensky, A.A. Ukhtomsky made a huge contribution to occupational medicine by identifying the connection between labor productivity and work regime. In his projects, V.I. Lenin laid the legislative basis for occupational medicine of the Soviet era. And outstanding hygienists of the 20th century made every effort to improve working conditions and develop new measures to protect people. Thus, occupational medicine has a solid historical foundation, which allows us to continue the development of the discipline at the present stage, make new discoveries and improve the quality of life of the working population.

occupational medicine

occupational Safety and Health

public health

occupational diseases

history of development

prevention

factors of production

working conditions.

1. Beilikhis G.A. Essays on the history of labor protection and health of workers in the USSR. M. 1971.191 p.

3. Karaush S.A., Gerasimova O.O. History of labor protection in Russia. - Tomsk, 2005. 123 p.

4. Kisteneva O.A., Kistenev V.V., Ukhvatova E.A. Activities of sanitary labor inspection at industrial enterprises of the RSFSR during the NEP years (based on materials from the Kursk province) // Genesis: historical studies. 2018. No. 1. P. 112 - 118. DOI: 10.25136/2409-868X.2018.1.23428 URL: http:// nbpublish.com/library_read_article.php?id=23428

5. CPSU in resolutions and decisions of congresses, conferences and plenums of the Central Committee" 7th ed. M., State Publishing House of Political Literature. - 1953. Part I. P. 41.

6. Program of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. M., Politizdat. 1974. P. 95.

7. Shabarov A.N., Korshunov G.I., Cherkai Z.N., Mukhina N.V. Milestones in the history of labor protection // Notes of the Mining Institute. – 2012. P. 268-275.

Currently, occupational medicine is an integral part of modern life. What does this concept include? According to the ILO and WHO definition, “occupational medicine has the aim of promoting and maintaining the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations; preventing workers from health problems caused by working conditions, protecting workers from risks caused by factors unfavorable to health in the working environment and the work process, placing and maintaining workers in a working environment adapted to their physiological and psychological abilities, and, ultimately, adapting work and every worker to work."

In our country, a significant part of the population works in the production of various goods and services. Social and living conditions of work influence productivity and quality of work performed. And the issues of protecting the health of the working population remain very relevant. Compliance with government norms and rules in production not only increases its efficiency, which is important for the economy as a whole, but also helps preserve the working capacity and health of the nation.

To prevent dangerous, unforeseen situations in the workplace, you need to have a good knowledge of the aspects of modern occupational medicine. But, as you know, to understand today’s processes it is necessary to study the entire history of the formation and development of the discipline, starting from ancient times. And Occupational Medicine is no exception. The origins of the formation and foundation of science go back to the distant past.

A long time ago, back in the ancient world, people knew many crafts that carried danger: mining, processing and roasting of metals. They noticed that such work adversely affected their health and the functioning of many body systems. Hippocrates (460 - 377 BC) was one of the first to describe the pathogenic effect of dust that is formed during ore mining. The doctor spoke about the miners’ complaints and described them externally: “They breathe with difficulty, have a pale and exhausted appearance.” Further, Galen (130 - about 200 BC) wrote about lead intoxication, its effect on the body and possible consequences. In the works of the Roman historian Pliny the Elder (1st century BC) there are also references to diseases of people mining mercury and sulfur.

The Middle Ages, known in history as a period of stagnation in all areas of life, did not make a special contribution to the development of occupational medicine.

Only in the 15-16th century, with the development of mining and metallurgical industries, did they again start talking about occupational diseases associated with difficult working conditions. “Consumption of miners, stonemasons, foundry workers” is a disease described by the Swiss physician and chemist Paracelsus (1493-1544) and the German physician, metallurgist, geologist Agricola (1494-1551). They described the clinical picture of the disease (fever, shortness of breath, cough) and identified a pattern of decreased life expectancy among workers in heavy industries.

However, the knowledge of ancient scientists and great minds of the Middle Ages only formed the prerequisites for the emergence of a new science. Bernardino Ramazzini (1633-1714), an Italian doctor, professor, rector of the University of Padua, is rightfully recognized as the founder of Occupational Medicine. In 1700, his work “Discourse on the Diseases of Craftsmen” was published, in which he systematized previously accumulated knowledge about occupational hygiene and described the clinic of various occupational diseases to which workers in factories - chemists, miners, blacksmiths - are susceptible. In total, the book describes 50 “harmful” professions. It is known that the scientist worked on it for about 50 years.

As for Russia, already in the time of Peter 1, the “Regulations and Work Regulations” were published - a document protecting workers of metallurgical plants and weapons workshops from the arbitrariness of their owners. Later in 1763 M.I. Lomonosov, in his treatise “The First Foundations of Metallurgy or Mining,” covered the issues of working conditions for workers, their safety, and the prevention of injuries to “mountain people.” He also wrote about child labor. An undeniable contribution to the development of occupational medicine in our country was made by F. F. Erisman (l842-1915), the first professor of hygiene at Moscow University. Under his leadership, a group of sanitary doctors inspected the working and living conditions of workers in the Moscow province. Based on research data, the book “Professional Hygiene, or Hygiene of Physical and Mental Labor” was published in 1877, which was a set of sanitary rules for setting up workplaces and observing rules of conduct in production.

A.P. Dobroslavin (1842-1889) can rightfully be considered the founder of occupational hygiene in Russia. In his writings, he described production conditions that negatively affected the health of workers; etiology, pathogenesis and clinic of various diseases associated with lead, mercury, and tobacco poisoning; assessed the working conditions.

Doctor D.P. also played an important role in the development of the discipline. Nikolsky (1855-1918). He considered it important to identify and prevent the effects of harmful factors, improve the working and living conditions of the working population; spoke about occupational medicine as part of public hygiene. In addition, he was involved in attracting public attention to the problems of hard work. For this purpose, in St. Petersburg he gave a course of lectures on professional hygiene to students of mining and polytechnic institutes, and organized museums and exhibitions dedicated to health protection.

Outstanding Russian physiologists - I. M. Sechenov (1829-1905), N. E. Vvedensky (1852-1922), A. A. Ukhtomsky (1875-1942), M. I. Vinogradov (1892-1968) - in their works also touched upon the problems of occupational medicine, in particular, they laid the foundation for occupational physiology. Sechenov’s book “Essay on Human Work Movements” examines the role of the nervous system in human labor activity, talks about the relationship between the length of the working day and fatigue, and emphasizes the importance of adherence to the regime. The works of Ukhtomsky and Vvedensky mention the alternation of work and rest to improve the quality of work performed.

One of the major hygienists of the Soviet era was V. A. Levitsky (1867-1936). While working as a doctor in the districts of the Moscow province, he drew attention to the difficult working conditions in the production of felt hats. Handicraftsmen widely used mercury during the processing of felt, which significantly worsened their health, reduced life expectancy and caused mutations in their offspring. Also in his works he highlighted the consequences of using radiant energy, radium, and heavy metals. Honored Scientist of the RSFSR (1936), leading specialist in sanitary supervision Vyacheslav Aleksandrovich Levitsky was one of the organizers of the Moscow State Institute of Occupational Health and Safety, and was the first to head it. Also, under his editorship, the country's first textbook on occupational medicine was published.

The knowledge, experience, and discoveries of the most talented scientists, doctors, and hygienists served as the basis for the work in the field of occupational medicine by the great V.I. Lenin (1870 - 1924). When drawing up political programs, he studied in detail and carefully the way of life of the population, their problems and demands. One of the wishes of the working class was to limit the work shift to 8 hours; people also demanded social guarantees, medical care for their families, and called for limiting child labor. The organizer of the October Revolution, along with other political tasks, included these demands in the program of the RSDLP (1899). And only after 1917, occupational medicine became widespread not only as a theoretical science, but also as a practically applied discipline. Its basic tenets were beginning to be observed.

So, already on November 11, 1917, the workers' and peasants' government signed a decree reducing the working day to 8 hours and annual leave. In 1918, the “Code of Labor Laws” was published, in 1922 it was approved by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the code was significantly expanded. In 1919, a labor inspection was created, later transformed into the State Industrial and Sanitary Inspectorate for Labor Protection. Thus, the legislative framework for improving working conditions and respecting the rights and freedoms of the working population began to actively function.

The changes also affected the training system in Occupational Medicine. In 1923, the Moscow Institute for the Study of Occupational Diseases named after. V.A. Obukh and the Ukrainian Institute of Work Medicine in Kharkov. The activities of the employees were aimed at studying new methods for studying hazardous industries, reducing their impact on the health of citizens, and identifying the relationship between the action of pathogenic factors and the occurrence of occupational diseases. Later, similar institutes began to open in many industrial cities of the RSFSR, as well as in Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Since 1926, departments of occupational hygiene began to open at medical faculties. Also, the subject “hygiene” was necessarily included in the educational program of students.

The microclimate played a special role in production conditions. Scientists have noted the influence of high and low temperatures, humidity levels, noise, vibration, and the amount of infrared radiation on the course of physiological processes in the body. All this served as an impetus for the introduction of special hygiene standards that make it possible to regulate the degree and time of exposure to these factors on a person. Scientists A. A. Letavet, G. X. Shakhbazyan, M. E. Marshak, B. B. Koiransky and others made a great contribution to the study of microclimate, its regulation and the creation of methods for protecting citizens.

During the Great Patriotic War, occupational medicine had to provide high-quality medical and social care to workers, especially in the defense industry, to meet the most important front-line orders. In the most difficult conditions, using the labor of women and children, it was necessary not only to optimally distribute the load, observe the regime necessary for survival, but also to improve working conditions in production. Thus, hygienists everywhere carried out the prevention of poisoning by toxic substances (trinitrotoluene), developed projects to reduce injuries at tank-building and aircraft factories, and solved the problems of timely provision of medical care to workers.

Later, in the post-war period, new methods were introduced into practice to improve the quality of jobs for people employed in agriculture, the textile industry, and chemical production. Maximum permissible concentrations of various chemicals were established, more effective methods of protecting workers were developed, and special attention was paid to health measures.

At the present stage of development of Russian society, thanks to the dedication of Soviet-era scientists and the work of modern hygienists, occupational medicine is at a qualitatively new level. The state protects its working citizens in every possible way. The employee-employer relationship is regulated by the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Article 37, paragraph 3), the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the Federal Law “On the Fundamentals of Protecting the Health of Citizens in the Russian Federation,” numerous orders, decrees of ministries related to the labor sphere. There has been a significant improvement in working conditions in heavy industry, developments are underway to eliminate the pathogenic influence of a number of factors, automated technologies are increasingly being introduced into production without the use of human resources. However, it is still humans who coordinate the activities of machines. And taking care of his safety while performing his labor duty will at all times be the main task of occupational medicine.

Bibliographic link

Linnik M.S., Vovk Y.R. HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND FORMATION OF OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE - FROM ANCIENTITY TO THE MODERN TIME // International Student Scientific Bulletin. – 2018. – No. 5.;
URL: http://eduherald.ru/ru/article/view?id=18775 (access date: 12/13/2019). We bring to your attention magazines published by the publishing house "Academy of Natural Sciences"

Social medicine has deep historical roots. At different periods of history, both domestic and foreign authors gave different interpretations of it. This happened, among other things, in connection with the identification of the problems being solved, the professional affiliation of the authors and other circumstances. At the same time, the peculiarities of history and national traditions were important.

This science in English-speaking countries is more often called “public health” or “public health”, in French-speaking countries it is called “social medicine”; in the USA, earlier than in other countries, it began to be designated as “medical sociology”.

Over the past hundred years, the name of this section of medicine, which reflected the socio-political, economic and medical-organizational problems of society, has changed several times. This is clearly demonstrated by the renaming of the corresponding departments in medical educational institutions of Russia throughout the entire period of their existence, which were the main link not only of education, but also of scientific research in this section of medicine.

Currently, such names as “social hygiene”, “social hygiene and health care organization”, “social medicine and health care organization” have been replaced by the designation “public health and health care”.

The history of the formation of social medicine as one of the areas of medicine goes back more than one century. For many centuries, medicine focused on the individual patient and how the healer could help him restore health or achieve harmony with his environment.

The relationship between human health and the environment was recognized already in Ancient Greece. Hippocrates also wrote a book “On Air, Water and Terrain”.

In the 18th century German public health activist Johann Peter Frank published a 6-volume work on the main directions of health policy, which examined many aspects of human life in society.

In the 40s XIX century German pathologist Rudolf Virchow proclaimed medicine a social science; he argued that medicine should contribute to basic social reform.

Social medicine (in today's terminology) developed rapidly in the second half of the 19th century. During this period, specialists showed interest in studying social conditions and factors in relation to human health. The prerequisites were created for the emergence of a public, social component of hygiene as a science. It is necessary to emphasize that hygiene itself and its branches are engaged in the study of certain objects of the external environment, the influence of atmospheric air, water, soil, production conditions, conditions of education and training, etc.

It was in Russia during this period, under the influence of the social movement, zemstvo and factory reforms, that the foundations of public hygiene were first formed as a science and educational discipline about public health and its management, which at the beginning of the 20th century. was constituted as social hygiene. In Russian literature, the term “social hygiene” was used by the Russian social hygienist V. O. Portugalov in his work “Issues of Public Hygiene” (1873).

At this time, Social Democratic and other parties and movements identified and showed the difficult living conditions of workers, which undermined their health and shortened their lives. Data from zemstvo and factory statistics, and the study by researchers of that time of working and living conditions provided a lot of evidence of the adverse effects of working conditions, living conditions, and lifestyle on the health of workers.

This was the basis for the inclusion in the programs of parties and political movements of that historical period of certain state measures in the fight for the health of the population by providing accessible and free medical care, eradicating the so-called “social diseases” and other actions aimed at improving the health of the population, first of all workers and peasants.

A movement of “social medicine” (society of “social doctors”) appeared,

During this period, courses, curricula, and laboratories were created in individual higher educational institutions to teach students the basics of public hygiene and preventive medicine. So, for example, in the 60s. XIX century At Kazan University, Professor A.V. Petrov lectured students on public health. Subsequently, similar courses were introduced at the medical faculties of universities in St. Petersburg, Kyiv, and Kharkov. And the history of our science and academic discipline began in the first decades of the 20th century.

The German physician Alfred Grotjahn published a textbook on social pathology in 1898. In 1902, he lectured on the topic “Social Medicine”, and in 1903 he began publishing a journal on social hygiene. In 1920, he created the first department of social hygiene at the University of Berlin. Subsequently, similar departments began to be created in higher educational institutions in other European countries.

Social hygiene in our country began its development with the creation in 1918 of the Museum of Social Hygiene of the People's Commissariat of Health of the RSFSR (director - Professor A.V. Molkov), which in 1920 was renamed the State Institute of Social Hygiene of the People's Commissariat of Health of the RSFSR, which became the leading scientific and organizational institution of the country.

In 1922, at the First Moscow University, the health park of the RSFSR N. A. Semashko organized the first department of social hygiene with a clinic of occupational diseases, and the following year, 1923, Deputy People's Commissar of Health Z. P. Solovyov created the department of social hygiene at the Second Moscow University .

Subsequently, similar departments began to open in other universities. They were headed by famous scientists and health care organizers of those years: Z. G. Frenkel (Leningrad), T.Ya. Tkachev (Voronezh), A. M. Dykhno (Smolensk), S. S. Kagan (Kiev), M. G. Gurevich (Kharkov), M. I. Barsukov (Minsk), etc. By 1929, the Department of Social Hygiene were created in all medical universities in the country.

In 1941, the departments of social hygiene were renamed the departments of healthcare organization. At this time, the State Institute of Social Hygiene was curtailing its work, which was recreated only after the Great Patriotic War in 1946 as the Institute of Health Organization.

In the 1950s A discussion is unfolding in the scientific community about social and hygienic problems. Subsequently (1966), the departments and the main institute received the name of social hygiene and health care organization, i.e. the two previous names were merged. This process contributed to the expansion of the range of social and hygienic research.

The development of social hygiene in Soviet times was directly related to the task of radically changing the healthcare system. Raising the level and improving the quality of public health is the main goal towards which social hygiene has been moving throughout the years of the existence of the Soviet state, despite serious difficulties, obstacles, and sometimes dramatic events.

A high assessment of the construction of the Soviet healthcare system, to the creation of which representatives of social hygiene made an indisputable contribution, was given by the WHO International Conference in Almaty in 1978.

Great contribution to the development of social hygiene and healthcare organization in the second half of the 20th century. contributed by Z. G. Frenkel, B. Ya. Smulevich, S. V. Kurashov, N.A. Vinogradov, A. F. Serenko, S. Ya. Freidlin, Yu. A. Dobrovolsky, Yu. P. Lisitsyn, O. P. Shchepin and others.

At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, in connection with the perestroika processes, and then fundamental socio-economic and political changes, including the healthcare sector, social hygiene and the organization of healthcare in the Russian Federation faced new challenges, primarily related to the transition of the healthcare system to an insurance basis in the conditions of creating a market economy.

During these years, problems associated with the deterioration of the population's health have worsened, as the quality of life of people has significantly decreased. This is evidenced, in particular, by increased rates of morbidity, mortality and disability from so-called socially significant diseases, and a decrease in the average life expectancy of the population.

These issues required social hygiene and healthcare organization to develop and scientifically substantiate a set of measures to modernize the public health system, including both strategic and tactical tasks.

In 1991, the All-Union Meeting on the Teaching of the Academic Discipline “Social Hygiene and Healthcare Organization” recommended renaming the discipline “Social Medicine and Healthcare Organization.”

The formation of new economic relations, the need for health care reform in the 1990s. The organization of the departments of insurance medicine, economics and health care management in medical universities was also determined, and the head institute was named the Scientific Research Institute of Social Hygiene, Economics and Health Care Management named after.

ON THE. Semashko (director - academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences O.P. Shchepin).

Without touching on political events, it should be noted that 1991 marked the beginning of a new stage in the development of social medicine. This is due to the fact that in our country social work was constituted as a new type of professional activity.

Since that time, an active process of creating social work departments began in many universities of the country in various fields. In this regard, it was necessary, first of all, to develop software and methodological support for the medical foundations of social work. Such work was carried out in medical universities, which were the first to open departments of social work in Arkhangelsk, Kazan, Kursk and other cities. In 2000, the educational discipline “Fundamentals of Social Medicine” was included in the state educational standard in the field of training “Social work” (second generation standard).

The first department of social medicine in the education system in the field of social work, founded in 1992 at the Institute of Youth (currently - Moscow Humanitarian University). The organizer and first head of the department was A. V. Martynenko (1992–2012).

With regard to the medical education system, it should be noted that in 2000, the departments of social medicine and health care organization (as well as with other names) were renamed into the departments of public health and healthcare, and the head institute was the Research Institute of Social Hygiene, Economics and Health Management named after . N. A. Semashko - in 2003 renamed the National Research Institute of Public Health of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences (hereinafter referred to as RAMS).

Thus, in the medical education system, the academic discipline was called “Public Health and Healthcare”, and in the social education system – “Fundamentals of Social Medicine”. Disciplines are studied in separate independent programs, taking into account the goals and objectives of personnel training in the relevant areas.

A feature of the current stage of development of social medicine in the Russian Federation is the study, along with generally accepted directions, of new problems - the problems of the formation of medical and social work as a component of applied social medicine, the development of modern technologies of social work in various areas of public health, the interaction of social workers with specialists related professions in providing medical and social assistance to the population.

Robert Lanza was able to ride the tidal wave of discoveries generated by the revelation of the secrets of DNA. Historically, at least three major stages can be distinguished in the development of medicine in human society. At the first stage, which lasted tens of thousands of years, medicine was dominated by superstition, witchcraft and rumors. Most children died at birth, and life expectancy ranged from 18 to 20 years. During this period, some useful herbs and chemicals, such as aspirin, were discovered, but there was no scientific method for finding new drugs and treatments. Unfortunately, any means that truly helped became closely guarded secrets. To make money, the “doctor” had to please rich patients, and keep the recipes for his potions and spells in deep secret.

During this period, one of the founders of the now famous Mayo Clinic kept a personal diary while visiting patients. There he frankly wrote that in his black doctor's suitcase there were only two effective remedies: saw and morphine. He used the saw to amputate affected organs, and morphine for pain relief during amputation. These tools worked flawlessly.

Everything else in the black suitcase, the doctor sadly noted, was snake oil and quackery.

The second stage in the development of medicine began in the 19th century, when the germ theory of diseases appeared and ideas about hygiene were formed. Life expectancy in the United States in 1900 was 49 years. With tens of thousands of soldiers dying on the battlefields of World War I in Europe, there was a need for real medical science, for real experiments with reproducible results that were then published in medical journals. European kings watched in horror as their best and brightest subjects died, and demanded real results from doctors, not empty tricks. Now doctors, instead of pleasing wealthy patrons, fought for recognition and fame through articles in reputable peer-reviewed journals. This set the stage for the promotion of antibiotics and vaccines that increased life expectancy to 70 years or more.

The third stage of development is molecular medicine. Today we are witnessing the merging of medicine and physics, we see how medicine penetrates deep into matter, to atoms, molecules and genes. This historical transition began in the 1940s when Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger, one of the founders of quantum theory, wrote the sought-after book What is Life? He rejected the idea that there was some mysterious spirit, or life force, that is inherent in all living beings and which actually makes them alive. Instead, the scientist reasoned, all life is based on a certain code, and this code is contained in a molecule. Having discovered it, he assumed that he would unravel the mystery of existence. Physicist Francis Crick, inspired by Schrödinger's book, teamed up with geneticist James Watson to prove that this fabulous molecule is DNA. In 1953, one of the most important discoveries of all time was made - Watson and Crick discovered the structure of DNA, which has the shape of a double helix. The length of one strand of DNA in its unraveled form is about two meters. This thread is a sequence of 3 billion nitrogenous bases, which are designated by the letters A, T, C, G (adenine, thymine, cytosine and guanine) and carry encoded information. By deciphering the exact sequence of nitrogenous bases in the chain of a DNA molecule, you can read the book of life.

The rapid development of molecular genetics eventually led to the emergence of the Human Genome Project, a major milestone in the history of medicine. The ambitious program to sequence every gene in the human body cost approximately $3 billion and involved the work of hundreds of scientists around the world. The successful completion of the project in 2003 marked the beginning of a new era in science. Over time, each person will have a personal genome map on an electronic medium like a CD-ROM. This map will record all approximately 25,000 genes of a given person, and it will become a kind of “instructions for use” for everyone.

Nobel laureate David Baltimore summarized all of the above in one phrase: “Today’s biology is an information science.”

Even in ancient times, in the earliest stage of human existence, knowledge of healing was observed in the most primitive forms. At the same time, hygiene standards arose, which constantly changed over time. In the process of accumulating experience and knowledge, people consolidated medical and hygienic standards in the form of customs and traditions that contributed to protection from diseases and treatment. Subsequently, this area of ​​healing developed into traditional medicine and.

Initially, as a rule, various forces of nature were used in the healing process, such as the sun, water and wind, and empirical medicines of both plant and animal origin, which were found in the wild, were also important.

All kinds of diseases were initially imagined by primitive people as some kind of evil forces penetrating the human body. Such myths arose due to the helplessness of people before the forces of nature and wild animals. In connection with such theories about the development of diseases, corresponding “magic” methods for curing them have been proposed. Spells, prayers and much more were used as medicines. Witchcraft and shamanism arose as the basis of psychotherapy, capable of having a beneficial effect on people, if only because they sincerely believed in the effectiveness of these measures.

Written monuments and other heritage of the past that have survived to this day prove the fact that the activities of healers were strictly regulated, which concerned both the methods of providing beneficial effects and the amount of fees that a healer could demand for his services. An interesting fact is that along with mystical remedies, medicinal herbs and healing agents that are quite common today were also used, which remain effective and can even sometimes be used in modern medicine.

It is worth noting that even in ancient times there were general rules of personal hygiene, as well as gymnastics, water procedures and massage. In addition, in case of complex diseases, even craniotomy could be used, as well as cesarean section in case of difficult childbirth. Traditional medicine is of great importance in China, where it remains to this day, along with traditional medicine, and has more than two thousand medicines. However, most of them are no longer used today.

The writings that have reached modern historians prove the extensive knowledge of the doctors of Central Asia who lived in the first millennium BC. It was during this period that the beginnings of knowledge appeared in such areas as the anatomy and physiology of the human body. There were also numerous regulations that still exist today regarding pregnant women and nursing mothers, as well as hygiene and family life. The main focus of ancient medicine was the prevention of diseases, not their healing.

House doctors appeared, serving rich and noble people, as well as traveling and public doctors. The latter provided free services aimed at preventing outbreaks of epidemics. It is worth noting the emergence of such schools as:

1. Crotonskaya, the main scientific work of whose founder was the doctrine of pathogenesis. It was based on a treatment in which the opposite was treated with the opposite.
2. Knidoskaya, who was the founder of humoral healing. Representatives of this school considered diseases to be a violation of the natural process of fluid displacement in the body.

The most famous is the teaching of Hippocrates, who was significantly ahead of his time in understanding the humoral cure of diseases. He identified the observation of a patient at the bedside as an extremely important event, on which he actually based his understanding of medicine. Having identified it as the science of natural philosophy, Hippocrates clearly placed lifestyle and hygiene at the forefront in the prevention of diseases. In addition, he substantiated and described the need for an individual approach to the treatment of each specific patient.

In the third century BC, the first understandings of the human brain were also described. In particular, Herophilus and Erasistratus provided evidence confirming the fact that the brain works as an organ of thinking. In addition, the structure of the brain, its convolutions and ventricles, and the differences in the nerves responsible for the sensory organs and motor functions were described.

And already in the second century of the new era, the representative of Asia Minor - Pergamon summarized all the available information regarding each of the existing areas of medicine and understanding of the structure of the human body. In particular, he divided medicine into such sections as:

• Anatomy
• Physiology
• Pathology
• Pharmacology
• Pharmacognosy
• Therapy
• Obstetrics
• Hygiene

In addition to the fact that he created a full-fledged system of medical knowledge, he also brought a lot to it. He was the first to conduct experiments and research on animals, rather than on living people, which brought with him very significant changes in the understanding of medicine in general. It was Pergamon who substantiated the need for knowledge of anatomy and physiology as a scientific basis for diagnosis, therapy and surgery. For many centuries, the slightly modified work of this author was used as the basis for all healers. It is worth noting that he was even recognized by the church and clergy.

Medicine reached its peak in ancient Rome, where aqueducts, sewers and baths were created, and military medicine was also born. And Byzantium distinguished itself by creating large hospitals serving the ordinary population. At the same time, quarantines, infirmaries and monastery hospitals arise in Europe, which is explained by the raging outbreak.

The feudal ancient Russian state was noted for its fairly widespread medical books containing instructions, according to which almost all healers performed their functions. In particular, he divided doctors into narrower specialists, such as chiropractors, midwives and others. In particular, there were doctors who relieved hemorrhoids, sexually transmitted diseases, as well as hernias, rheumatism and much more.