The Chicago whip. (Chicago, Ill.) 1919-19??, 1920-07-03
HEALTH HINTS.
BY J. SylvanJer Trice, M. D.
OF MEDICINE,

| (Contlnued).
Fragments of records of Medical
History have been found dating back
as far as $500 years Before Christ.
One historian says: perhaps the
Oldest record we have of laws or
edicts intended to regulate the prac-
tice of surgery, is that af the edicts
of Hammarubi, King of Babylonia
who about 2250 B. C. published a
code of laws which were inscribed on
stone stelae and set up in the prin-
cipal cities of his domain; the laws
says that if n physician operates on
a man for a severe wound with a
bronze and saves the mans life, or if
he opens an abscess of a man with
bronze stone or lancet and save
| that mans eye he shall receive ten
the mans death or DESTROYS the
mans eye they shall cut off his fin
gers This law, to some degree, reg
ulated the practice of surgery. 1t
protected the surgeon and set a price
for his work, but at the same time
| it protected the public against quacks
and imposters and unskilled surgeons.
1t is evident that even at this early
date the field was full of quacks
and imposters; and to this date we
find plenty of quacks and unskiled
men endangering the lives of many
by posing to be surgeons.
Egyptian Medicine gives US earlier
records but less certain; two epitaphs
of physicians of Egypt are supposed
to have been found-one is of the
earliest known physician who lived
$500 years Before Shrist; the other
is of a physician who lived about
200 years Before Christ. The peo-
pie had a temple erected in honor of
this the earliest of physicians ard
worshipped his name at Memphis.
Later W Max Mueller found GER
tain engravings on a tomb near
Memphis; he declares that they are
the earliest pictures of surgical oper-
ations, they were dated from $500
B. c. The most imnortant of the
papyri, medical, is that of Ebers
which was found at Thebes in 1872
and dates back to 1850 B. c. 1t was,
at first, supposed to be one of the
lost sacred or Hermetic Books of
Thoth, the moon god, who like Apollo
in Greece, was the special deity of
medicine. This Papyrus was later
found to be or contain descriptive
articles of some diseases found at
that time, it gives list of diseases
and follows with about 700 different
-emedies for them. Every Egyptian
physician was a specialist confirming
himself to certain diseases. Some of
the drugs in general use at that time
we're Castor Oil. which vet retains
its fame, Opium, Gentian and others
that are still in use.
Another and less scientific custom
of early Egyptian days, was the of
fering of "Anathemata" which were
models of diseased parts of the body,
feet, hands, etc, in silver and gold.
These models were hung up in the
temples for the benefit of the gods.
The priests sold these offerings 70
| SO bsequent sufferers with similar
LESSONS; the sufferers who purchased
hose models and had the proper
! faith would subsequently, be healed.
This custom is very much like Chris
tian Science healing our present day.
See that your teeth are in perfect
condition so that you may properly
masticate your food and aid diges-
/ ton. See a good dentist before your
health is undermined by bad teeth.
Bad teeth mean bad digestion and
! bad digestion means bad health and
/ bad health means shorter life.
j. SYLVESTER TRICE, NJ. D.,
1902 State Street.
History of Medicine continued
next week.