How Did Medicine And Surgery Influence The Relationship Between Ancient Rome And Mesopotamia?
Medicine and surgery have come a long way from what they used to be. Back in ancient Rome and Mesopotamia they were removing arrows from chests and now we are working on a cure for cancer. But, the medical period of Ancient rome and Mesopotamia were key to the advancement of medicine. The doctor patient relationship and surgery sparked something new and they helped lay a base for what we have today. Herbal remedies helped us get away from the belief that gods could cure everything. Surgery saved lives and helped the people gain more knowledge about the body. Surgical procedures, herbal remedies, and representation of patients are examples of how the medicine of Ancient Rome and Mesopotamia influenced and relate to modern day methods.
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Many laws and rules from Hammurabi’s code represent both the surgeon and the patient during a procedure. The law “As for penalties for malpractice, a surgeon who caused the death of a noble had his hand cut off,” is an example of how the patient was represented. This quote shows how a surgeon would be punished if they didn’t complete the surgery well and injured someone. Law number 215 from hammurabi’s code states, “If a physician make a large incision with an operating knife and cure it, or if he open a tumor (over the eye) with an operating knife, and saves the eye, he shall receive ten shekels in money.” This law states what is deserving of the surgeon if he is able to operate correctly. These rights came in handy for the surgical procedures that were completed during this time such as: eye care, hearing, dentistry, skin care, abortion, and leprosy. Historians have evidence showing that these types of procedures were completed. This statement from a text reads, “Understandably, toothache is the most frequent complaint treated, though the teeth are also described as loose or falling out. Both therapeutic and magical treatments were given for tooth problems.” This shows how teeth were treated quite frequently even though actual dentistry wasn’t practiced. Skin care was also common during this time “Because of imprecision in the descriptions of symptoms in the medical texts, it would be difficult to distinguish specific examples that could be confidently identified as heart attacks or strokes.” Another surgical procedure practiced was the very controversial topic today of abortion. There is one text that apparently gives prescriptions for aborting a fetus. The relevant line reads, "to cause a pregnant woman to 'drop' her fetus." The prescriptions consist of eight ingredients to
Many laws and rules from Hammurabi’s code represent both the surgeon and the patient during a procedure. The law “As for penalties for malpractice, a surgeon who caused the death of a noble had his hand cut off,” is an example of how the patient was represented. This quote shows how a surgeon would be punished if they didn’t complete the surgery well and injured someone. Law number 215 from hammurabi’s code states, “If a physician make a large incision with an operating knife and cure it, or if he open a tumor (over the eye) with an operating knife, and saves the eye, he shall receive ten shekels in money.” This law states what is deserving of the surgeon if he is able to operate correctly. These rights came in handy for the surgical procedures that were completed during this time such as: eye care, hearing, dentistry, skin care, abortion, and leprosy. Historians have evidence showing that these types of procedures were completed. This statement from a text reads, “Understandably, toothache is the most frequent complaint treated, though the teeth are also described as loose or falling out. Both therapeutic and magical treatments were given for tooth problems.” This shows how teeth were treated quite frequently even though actual dentistry wasn’t practiced. Skin care was also common during this time “Because of imprecision in the descriptions of symptoms in the medical texts, it would be difficult to distinguish specific examples that could be confidently identified as heart attacks or strokes.” Another surgical procedure practiced was the very controversial topic today of abortion. There is one text that apparently gives prescriptions for aborting a fetus. The relevant line reads, "to cause a pregnant woman to 'drop' her fetus." The prescriptions consist of eight ingredients to