Brief history of medicine. International Student Scientific Bulletin Stages of development of medicine as a science

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

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 had 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, Hammurabi's code of laws, which mentions the rules for the work of doctors, as well as the observations of Herodotus, who describes medical activities in Babylonia, is of great value.

Initially, priests were healers, so healing was considered part of the religion. Pathological processes, inexplicable by the knowledge available at that time, were associated with the punishment of the gods, therefore, diseases were often treated only by the expulsion of 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 also made a significant contribution 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 called into question, for example, by the experiments of Francis Bacon. This was the impetus for the development of such disciplines as anatomy and physiology. A more accurate 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 by dissecting corpses and studying the structural features of internal organs.

Further discoveries in the field of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases 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 a science as genetics played a revolutionary role.

Today, doctors have in their arsenal not only thousands of years of experience and the latest developments, but also modern equipment, effective drugs, without which neither accurate diagnosis nor effective therapy can be imagined. However, despite such progress, many questions are still open, scientists have yet to answer them.

1

This article presents the history of the development and formation of one of the fundamental sections of medicine - occupational medicine. Its foundations began to be laid in the distant past. Even then, a person noticed how working conditions affect his health. The great minds of antiquity - Hippocrates, Galen - made the first attempts to describe the diseases of workers, to identify the factors that had a detrimental effect on them. But B. Ramazzini, an Italian doctor, who systematized previously accumulated knowledge and identified a number of occupational diseases, is rightfully called the founder of science. 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 the code of sanitary standards for the arrangement of workplaces. A huge contribution to occupational medicine was made by physiologists I. M. Sechenov N. E. Vvedensky, A. A. Ukhtomsky, revealing the relationship between labor productivity and work schedule. V.I. Lenin in his projects laid the legislative base for occupational medicine in 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 at the present stage to continue the development of discipline, 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. Beilihis G.A. Essays on the history of labor protection and health, 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 the Sanitary Labor Inspectorate at Industrial Enterprises of the RSFSR during the New Economic Policy (Based on the Materials of the Kursk Province) // Genesis: Historical Research. 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. The 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. S. 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. S. 268-275.

Currently, occupational medicine is an integral part of modern life. What does this concept include? As defined by the ILO and WHO, “occupational medicine aims to promote and maintain the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations; prevention of health deviations in workers caused by working conditions, protection of workers from risks caused by factors unfavorable to health of the working environment and the labor process, placement and retention of workers in a working environment adapted to their physiological and psychological abilities, and, as a result, adaptation of 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 affect the productivity and quality of the work performed. And the issues of protecting the health of the working population remain very relevant. Compliance with state norms and rules in production increases not only its efficiency, which is important for the economy as a whole, but also contributes to the preservation of 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 Occupational Medicine of the new time. But, as you know, in order 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 laying 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 affects their health, the work of many body systems. One of the first Hippocrates (460 - 377 BC) described the pathogenic effect of dust, which is formed during the extraction of ores. The doctor spoke about the complaints of the miners and described them outwardly: "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 writings of the Roman historian Pliny the Elder (1st century BC), there are also references to the diseases of people mining mercury and sulfur.

The era of 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 15th-16th century, with the development of mining and metallurgical industries, they again started talking about occupational diseases associated with difficult working conditions. "Consumption of miners, masons, 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 revealed a pattern of decreasing life expectancy among workers in heavy industries.

However, the knowledge of ancient scientists and the 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 the previously accumulated knowledge about occupational health and described the clinic of various occupational diseases that workers of manufactories - chemists, miners, blacksmiths - are exposed to. 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” was issued - a document protecting workers of metallurgical plants, weapons workshops from the arbitrariness of the 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 of "mountain people". He also wrote about child labor. An indisputable contribution to the development of occupational medicine in our country was made by F. F. Erisman (1842-1915), the first professor of hygiene at Moscow University. Under his leadership, a group of sanitary doctors checked the working and living conditions of workers in the Moscow province. Based on these studies, in 1877 the book “Professional Hygiene, or the Hygiene of Physical and Mental Labor” was published, which was a set of sanitary rules for the arrangement of workplaces and compliance with the rules of conduct in production.

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

An important role in the development of the discipline was also played by the doctor D.P. Nikolsky (1855-1918). He considered it important to identify and prevent the action of harmful factors, to improve the working and living conditions of the working population; spoke about occupational medicine as part of public hygiene. In addition, he was engaged in drawing public attention to the problems of hard work. To this end, in St. Petersburg, he gave a course of lectures on occupational hygiene to students of mining and polytechnic institutes, 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 The works also touched upon the problems of occupational medicine, in particular, they laid the foundation for the physiology of labor. Sechenov's book "Essay on the Workers' Movement of Man" examines the role of the nervous system in a person's labor activity, talks about the relationship between the length of the working day and fatigue, and emphasizes the importance of observing the regime. The works of Ukhtomsky and Vvedensky mention the alternation of work and rest to improve the quality of the work performed.

One of the major hygienists of the Soviet era was V. A. Levitsky (1867-1936). 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 well-being, reduced life expectancy and caused mutations in offspring. Also in his works he covered the consequences of the use of radiant energy, radium, heavy metals. Honored Scientist of the RSFSR (1936), a leading specialist in sanitary supervision Vyacheslav Alexandrovich Levitsky was one of the organizers of the Moscow State Institute for 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.

Knowledge, experience, discoveries of the most talented scientists, doctors, 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 requirements. 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 the restriction of child labor. The organizer of the October Revolution, along with other political tasks, included these requirements 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 postulates began to be respected.

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

The changes also affected the system of training in Occupational Medicine. In 1923, the Moscow Institute for the Study of Occupational Diseases named after V.I. V.A. Butt and the Ukrainian Institute of Working 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 institutions began to open in many industrial cities of the RSFSR, as well as in Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Since 1926, departments of occupational health began to open at medical faculties. Also, the subject "hygiene" was necessarily included in the educational program of students.

The microclimate in the conditions of production was given a special role. Scientists noted the influence of high and low temperatures, humidity levels, noise, vibration, and infrared radiation on the course of physiological processes in the body. All this served as an impetus for the introduction of special hygienic standards that allow you to regulate the degree and time of exposure to these factors on a person. A great contribution to the study of the microclimate, its regulation and the creation of methods for protecting citizens was made by scientists A. A. Letavet, G. Kh. Shakhbazyan, M. E. Marshak, B. B. Koyransky and others.

During the Great Patriotic War, occupational medicine was supposed to provide high-quality medical and social assistance to workers, especially the defense industry, to meet the most important front-line orders. In the most difficult conditions, with the use of the labor of women and children, it was necessary not only to optimally distribute the load, observe the regime necessary for survival, but also improve working conditions at work. Thus, hygienists everywhere carried out the prevention of poisoning with 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 allowable concentrations of various chemicals were established, more effective ways to protect workers were developed, and special attention was paid to recreational activities.

At the present stage of development of Russian society, thanks to the dedication of Soviet 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. Relations between an employee and an employer are regulated by the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Article 37, clause 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, orders of ministries related to the labor sphere. There has been a significant improvement in working conditions in heavy industry, development is underway to eliminate the pathogenic influence of a number of factors, and automated technologies are increasingly being introduced into production without the use of human resources. However, it is still a person who coordinates the activities of machines. And concern for his safety in the performance of labor duty at all times will be the main task of occupational medicine.

Bibliographic link

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

Social medicine has deep historical roots. In 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 features of history and national traditions mattered.

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

Over the past hundred years, the name of this section of medicine, reflecting the socio-political, economic and medical-organizational problems of society, has repeatedly changed. This clearly demonstrates the renaming of the relevant departments in medical educational institutions in Russia throughout the entire period of their existence, which were the main link not only in education, but also in scientific research in this branch of medicine.

At present, its names such as "social hygiene", "social hygiene and healthcare organization", "social medicine and healthcare organization" have been replaced by the designation "public health and healthcare".

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

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

In the XVIII century. German public health figure 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. 19th 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 for the emergence of a public, social component of hygiene as a science were created. At the same time, it should be emphasized 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, working 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 academic discipline on public health and its management, which at the beginning of the 20th century. was constituted as social hygiene. In domestic 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, the social democratic and other parties and movements revealed and showed the difficult living conditions of the workers, undermining their health and shortening their lives. The data of Zemstvo and factory statistics, the study by researchers of that time of working and living conditions presented a lot of evidence of the adverse effect on the health of workers of working conditions, everyday life, and lifestyle.

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 affordable and free medical care, eradicating the so-called "social diseases" and other actions aimed at improving the health of the population, primarily workers and peasants.

There was a movement of "public medicine" (society of "social doctors"),

During this period, courses, curricula, laboratories for teaching students the basics of public hygiene and preventive (prophylactic) medicine were created in some higher educational institutions. So, for example, in the 60s. 19th century at Kazan University, Professor A. V. Petrov gave lectures to students on public health. Subsequently, such courses were introduced at the medical faculties of the universities of St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Kharkov. And the beginning of the history of our science and academic discipline falls on the first decades of the 20th century.

The German physician Alfred Grotjan published a textbook on social pathology in 1898. In 1902 he lectured on the topic "Social Medicine", in 1903 he began to publish a journal on social hygiene. In 1920 he created the first department of social hygiene at the University of Berlin. In the future, 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, N. A. Semashko organized the first department of social hygiene with a clinic of occupational diseases at the First Moscow University, and the next, in 1923, Deputy People's Commissar of Health Z. P. Solovyov created the department of social hygiene at the Second Moscow University .

In the future, similar departments began to open in other universities. They were headed by well-known scientists and healthcare 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) and others. By 1929, the Department of Social Hygiene were established in all medical universities of the country.

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

In the 1950s a discussion about social and hygienic problems is unfolding in the scientific community. In the future (1966), the departments and the head institute were named social hygiene and healthcare organization, i.e. there was a merger of the two previous names. This process contributed to the expansion of the spectrum of socio-hygienic research.

The development of social hygiene in Soviet times was directly related to the task of fundamentally changing the health care system. To raise the level and improve the quality of public health - this is the main goal towards which social hygiene has been going through all 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 health care system, in the creation of which the representatives of social hygiene made an indisputable contribution, was given by the WHO International Conference in Alma-Ata in 1978.

A 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 healthcare organization in the Russian Federation faced new challenges, primarily related to the transition of the healthcare system to an insurance basis. in the context of a market economy.

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

These issues required the development and scientific substantiation of a set of measures to modernize the public health system, including both strategic and tactical tasks, from social hygiene and healthcare organization.

In 1991, the All-Union Conference on the Teaching of the Academic Discipline "Social Hygiene and Health Organization" recommended that the discipline be renamed "Social Medicine and Health Organization".

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

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

Leaving aside 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 has been constituted as a new type of professional activity.

Since that time, an active process of creating faculties of social work 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 faculties of social work in Arkhangelsk, Kazan, Kursk and other cities. In 2000, the academic discipline "Fundamentals of Social Medicine" was included in the state educational standard in the direction of training "Social work" (second generation standard).

A significant contribution to the preparation of software and methodological support for the study of the discipline, as well as the development of scientific and organizational and methodological foundations of medical and social work, was made by 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). A. V. Martynenko (1992–2012) became the organizer and the first head of the department.

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

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

A feature of this stage in the development of social medicine in the Russian Federation is the study, along with generally accepted areas, 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 the provision of medical and social assistance to the population.

Robert Lanza has managed to ride the tidal wave of discoveries generated by the unraveling of the mysteries 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, superstition, witchcraft and rumors reigned in medicine. 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 remedies that really helped became closely guarded secrets. To make money, the “doctor” had to cater to wealthy patients, and keep the recipes for his potions and spells in deep secrecy.

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

Everything else in the black suitcase, the doctor remarked sadly, is snake fat 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. In Europe, tens of thousands of soldiers died on the battlefields of the First World War, and there was a need for real medical science, for real experiments with reproducible results, which were then published in medical journals. European kings watched in horror as their best and smartest subjects perished, and demanded real results from doctors, not empty tricks. Now doctors, instead of catering to wealthy patrons, fought for recognition and fame with articles in respected peer-reviewed journals. Thus, a platform was prepared for the promotion of antibiotics and vaccines, which increased life expectancy to 70 years or more.

The third stage of development is molecular medicine. Today we are witnessing the fusion of medicine and physics, we see how medicine penetrates deep into matter, to atoms, molecules and genes. This historic transition began in the 1940s, when the Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger, one of the founders of quantum theory, wrote the much-requested book What is Life? He rejected the idea that there is some kind of mysterious spirit, or life force, which 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 the molecule. Having discovered it, he assumed that he would unravel the mystery of being. Physicist Francis Crick, inspired by Schrödinger's book, joined forces 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 revealed the double helix structure of DNA. The length of one DNA strand in untangled form is about two meters. Such a thread is a sequence of 3 billion nitrogenous bases, which are denoted by the letters A, T, C, G (adenine, thymine, cytosine and guanine) and carry encoded information. Having deciphered the exact sequence of nitrogenous bases in the chain of a DNA molecule, one can read the book of life.

The rapid development of molecular genetics eventually led to the emergence of the Human Genome Project, a milestone in the history of medicine. The shock program of sequencing all the genes of the human body cost about $3 billion and included 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 map of the genome on an electronic medium like a CD-ROM. This map will contain all approximately 25,000 genes of a given person, and it will become a kind of “instruction for use” for everyone.

Nobel laureate David Baltimore summarized all of the above in one sentence: "Today's biology is an information science."

Even in ancient times, at the earliest stage of human existence, knowledge of healing was observed in the most primitive forms. At the same time, hygiene standards were born, which constantly changed over time. In the process of accumulating experience and knowledge, people fixed medical and hygienic norms in the form of customs and traditions that contributed to protection from diseases and treatment. Subsequently, this area of ​​\u200b\u200bhealing developed into traditional medicine and.

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

All sorts of diseases were originally presented by primitive people as some kind of evil forces penetrating the human body. Such myths arose because of the helplessness of people in front of the forces of nature and wild animals. In connection with similar theories about the development of diseases, the corresponding “magic” methods of curing them were also proposed. Spells, prayers and much more were used as medicines. Sorcery and shamanism arose as the basis of psychotherapy, capable of exerting a beneficial effect on people, if only because they sincerely believed in the effectiveness of these measures.

The written monuments and other heritage of the past that have come down to our times are proved by the fact that the activities of healers were strictly regulated, both in terms of the methods of implementing a beneficial effect and the amount of fees that a healer could require 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 for personal hygiene, as well as applied gymnastics, water procedures and massage. In addition, in the case of complex diseases, even craniotomy could be used, as well as a caesarean section in the case of difficult childbirth. Folk 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 come down to modern historians prove the existence of extensive knowledge of the healers of Central Asia, who lived in the first millennium BC. It was during this period that the rudiments of knowledge appeared in such areas as the anatomy and physiology of the human body. Numerous regulations arose, which 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 cure.

There were family doctors serving the rich and noble people, as well as itinerant and public doctors. The latter were engaged in gratuitous services aimed at preventing outbreaks of epidemics. It is worth noting the emergence of such schools as:

1. crotonian, the main scientific work of the founder of which was the doctrine of pathogenesis. It was based on treatment, according to which the opposite was treated with the opposite.
2. Knidos who was the founder of humoral medicine. Representatives of this school considered diseases to be a violation of the natural process of displacement of fluids 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 designated the observation of the patient at the bedside as an extremely important event, on which he actually built his understanding of medicine. Having singled it out as a science of natural philosophy, Hippocrates unequivocally put 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. And besides this, the structure of the brain, its convolutions and ventricles, and the differences in the nerves responsible for the sense organs and motor functions were also described.

And already in the second century of the new era, the representative of Asia Minor - Pergamum summarized all the available information regarding each of the fields of medicine that existed at that time and understanding of the structure of the human body. In particular, he divided medicine into sections such 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, and not on living people, which brought with him very significant changes in the understanding of medicine in general. It was Pergamum who substantiated the need for knowledge of anatomy and physiology as a scientific basis in diagnosis, therapy and surgery. For many centuries, a 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 the clergy.

Medicine reached its heyday in ancient Rome, where aqueducts, sewers and baths were created, as well as military medicine was born. And Byzantium distinguished itself by the creation of large hospitals serving the ordinary population. At the same time, quarantines, infirmaries and monastic hospitals appear in Europe, which are explained by the raging.

The feudal ancient Russian state was marked by 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 cured hemorrhoids, sexually transmitted diseases, as well as hernias, rheumatism, and much more.