Development of Medicine and Medical Treatments in Antiquity and a Comparison to Modern Methods of Treatment

Povijest medicine oduvijek je privlačila pažnju povjesničara i medicinskih entuzijasta. Ovaj rad donosi sintezu najvažnijih ličnosti, ideja i pretpostavki koje su utjecale na razvoj medicine do i u vremenu antike, na čemu je i naglasak rada. Antička medicina stare Grčke i Rima postavila je temelje moderne medicine i odbacila višestoljetne magijsko-religijske pretpostavke odlazeći u empirijsko znanstvenu sferu. Asklepije, Hipokrat i Galen su tri ključne osobe u razvoju medicine u antici. Asklepije, koji je na razmeđu mitskoga i zbilje, je savršen primjer transformacijskog procesa kroz koji je prošla medicina. Hipokrat kao „otac medicine“ stvara temelje medicine u prirodnim zakonima i promatra čovjeka kao individuu čije zdravlje ovisi o prirodi i okolnostima, dok Galen, koji uči preko Hipokratovih djela, odlazi korak dalje i počinje vršiti istraživanja i eksperimente redeći sekcije. Svojim spisima na taj način utemeljuje fiziologiju i anatomiju kao glavne postavke medicine. U konačnici rad donosi usporedni pregled modernih metoda liječenje koje su se održale potpuno jednako ili u promijenjenom smislu, zbog tehnologije, sve od antike do danas.The history of medicine has always attracted the attention of historians and medical enthusiasts. This paper offers a synthesis of the most relevant persons, ideas and thoughts which influenced the development of medicine from and during the time of ancient history. Ancient Greek and Roman medicine laid the foundations of modern medicine and rejected magical-religious assumptions, which in turn led medicine towards empirical and sientific surroundings. Asclepius, Hippocrates and Galen are three key persons of the ancient medical development. Asclepius, who sits on the edge between reality and myth, is just the perfect example of the transformation process that medicine went through. Hippocrates, as the „father of medicine“, laid the foundations of medicine in natural laws and observed man as an individual whose health depends on nature and the environment. Galen, on the other side, learned from the works of Hippocrates, but went one step further by conducting experimental research and anatomical dissections. Through his writings he founded physiology and anatomy as the bases of medical studies. Finally, this paper presents a comparative review of modern methods in medicine that have not changed since ancient times or have changed in a gradual way due to modern technology