FREE ESSAY ON THE RISE AND FALLS TO MODERN MEDICINE

THE RISE AND FALLS TO MODERN MEDICINE

In the Miller's Tale, Geoffrey Chaucer depicts the parish priest assistant Absolon and his
sexual interests in Allison, the miller's daughter. In addition to his religious duties,
he also had obligations in hair cutting. He could laten blood, shave, and clippe. This
latter term fives rise to the medical treatment bleeding which was performed by most
barbers of that era.
After the disappearance of medicine during the Dark Ages, a new knowledge surfaced
throughout the medical community. During these times there were a great many scientific
breakthroughs. The findings of William Harvey proved that blood traveled through veins
away from the heart. Claudius Galen, a renowned physician and philosopher, succeeded in
explaining the function of nerves, brain structures, and some physiological tendencies of
the body. However, he also contributed to the hindrance of medical advancement. He
performed dissections on the human body to better his understanding as a physician. His
only knowledge of the human anatomy was from that of animals; therefore, the public or
medical community did not accept his studies. His incompetence slowed medical process for
along time; thus, hie teaching were politely shoved aside so that physicians could search
for a scientific basis for medical knowledge. This new direction of medical practices
still held onto some of the old medieval ways. Other than cutting hair, barbers were
surgeons attending to small wounds, doing minor surgery, and bleeding. People believed
that bloodletting could aside in many diseases though it resulted only in the rapid
spread of deaths among people with potential to recover.
This renaissance uncovered many discoveries that lead to the use of modern medicine such
as the stethoscope, the digestive system, serums, antitoxins, and even hypnosis. The ways
in medieval times initiated some of the greatest medical advances in the world, though
today's society would probably be more accepting to surgeons acting as barbers on the
side and NOT vice versa!
Bibliography
The Roots of modern medicine.
http//noonyide.lick.pvt.k12.ca.us/Lick/courses/intro/h2/med/medm1.html
The Roots of Roman Medicine.
http://noontide.lick.pvt.k12.ca.us/Lick/courses/intro/h2/med/medr1.html