The Dawn of Medicine

Form: Non-fiction

Year: 1967

Publication history:

• 1966 : The Dawn of Medicine (hc) , Putnam, 191 pp., 67-14797

Before the time of Hippocrates the ancient civilizations had their men of medicine. Here are their stories -- medicine in the early days of the Egyptian, Babylonians, Indians, Chinese, and others. Although magic, incantations, and other nonscientific practices dominated, there nevertheless were some remarkable achievements in the dawn of medicine. Many drugs used today were also used in some forms in the long ago. Brain surgery, too, was practiced by the ancients, as well as the setting of broken limbs. The author explores the superstitions and achievements of the medicine men, culminating with the beginnings of modern medicine in the time of Hippocrates.