Medical Knowledge/ Medical Practices
Mesopotamia had an elaborate medical system that used many medical remedies to heal sick people, as shown in ancient documents. The civilisation developed two distinct types of medical practitioners who they believed would cure illness. Mesopotamian cultures are considered the originators of medication and used medicines as early as 3500 BC.
Spiritual Doctor (The Ashipu)
As all ancient societies, medicine and religion went hand in hand. If an individual was diagnosed with a disease or illness, it was seen as the gods’ displeasure with that person, or as a manifestation of evil spirits dwelling in them. Each spirit or god was held responsible for only one disease. One of the types of medical practitioners was known as an Ashipu or spiritual doctor and it was their job to identify the god responsible for the illness and what sin committed by the patient was being punished. They were 6,000 different demons by name. They would then prescribe the correct religious ceremony to bring about the healing. The Ashipu would attempt to cure the patient by means of charms and spells that were designed to drive out the spirit causing the disease. They sometimes used the livers of sacrificed animals to make their diagnosis, this process was known as hepatoscopy and it was considered particularly effective as the liver was regarded as symbol of life.
Herbal Practitioners (The Asu)
Another medical practitioner that was responsible for curing disease in Ancient Mesopotamia was called and Asu. An Asu was also considered a physician and specialised in herbal remedies and had a good understanding of the properties of different herbs and minerals. They dealt with empirical applications of medication. For example, when treating wounds, the Asu generally relied on washing, bandaging and creating the first plaster derived from a mixture of medical and herbal ingredients, as well as combining certain plants to be swallowed or applied to infections.
Woman made all medicines in Mesopotamia as part of their profession as housekeepers, female healers or physicians. Woman would sometimes take the role as an Asu. An asu accounted as a physician and specialised in herbal remedies, they developed a sound understanding of the properties of different herbs and minerals. In those days plants or crops they grew, plant products, elements, animals and their products were the basic ingredients for their medicines used to create creams and ointments. Such medicines were ingested or inserted into the body or applied to the body’s surface. Over time the properties of each herb were explored and people discovered how each illness could be treated. For example, there were a number of ancient written texts that deal with ear problems such as earache and the most frequently prescribed remedy was the application of pomegranate juice. Another example of a medical remedy used was vegetable oils and the fat of various animals that were applied for skin problems such as skin cancer or chicken pox that came as a result of Mesopotamia’s desert like conditions. Cuneiform tablets suggest that Mesopotamians used salt water for gargling, sour wine as a disinfectant and willow bark (source of aspirin) to relieve fever. By trial and error, Mesopotamians also found that alkaline substances neutralize the stomachs natural acids and reduce the production of pepsin, which irritates the stomach’s lining. The main ingredient in their stomach relief medicines was sodium bicarbonate (baking soda).
Evidence of many of Mesopotamia’s medical techniques can be found in an ancient text called the Diagnostic Handbook dated back to the 11th century inscribed on a clay tablet, that lists symptoms and prognoses.
With all Mesopotamian doctors, before deciding on the treatment, they would examine the patient noting such things as temperature, pulse and reflexes. Some of the illnesses diagnosed and treated in Mesopotamia were intestinal problems such as colic and diarreha and neurological ones such as headaches and epilepsy as well as diseases such as tuberculosis, smallpox and bubonic plague. Cuneiform texts have given historians insights of the practices of medical practitioners. For example, the medical library of Ashurbanipal lists over 250 vegetable substances and over 120 mineral substances with ascribed medical properties and how they have been used to treat certain illnesses. Much of which information we have found useful so have used in some of our medical remedies today.
Knowledge of Anatomy
Medical practitioners had limited knowledge regarding the human body and the different functions of each organ making it difficult for them to gain the medical knowledge required to treat organ related sicknesses. However, they made an effort to study the organs and their functions of animals that they had domesticated such as cattle, to inform themselves on anatomy and how each organ function to give them knowledge of what could be done to improve their medical practices.
Spiritual Doctor (The Ashipu)
As all ancient societies, medicine and religion went hand in hand. If an individual was diagnosed with a disease or illness, it was seen as the gods’ displeasure with that person, or as a manifestation of evil spirits dwelling in them. Each spirit or god was held responsible for only one disease. One of the types of medical practitioners was known as an Ashipu or spiritual doctor and it was their job to identify the god responsible for the illness and what sin committed by the patient was being punished. They were 6,000 different demons by name. They would then prescribe the correct religious ceremony to bring about the healing. The Ashipu would attempt to cure the patient by means of charms and spells that were designed to drive out the spirit causing the disease. They sometimes used the livers of sacrificed animals to make their diagnosis, this process was known as hepatoscopy and it was considered particularly effective as the liver was regarded as symbol of life.
Herbal Practitioners (The Asu)
Another medical practitioner that was responsible for curing disease in Ancient Mesopotamia was called and Asu. An Asu was also considered a physician and specialised in herbal remedies and had a good understanding of the properties of different herbs and minerals. They dealt with empirical applications of medication. For example, when treating wounds, the Asu generally relied on washing, bandaging and creating the first plaster derived from a mixture of medical and herbal ingredients, as well as combining certain plants to be swallowed or applied to infections.
Woman made all medicines in Mesopotamia as part of their profession as housekeepers, female healers or physicians. Woman would sometimes take the role as an Asu. An asu accounted as a physician and specialised in herbal remedies, they developed a sound understanding of the properties of different herbs and minerals. In those days plants or crops they grew, plant products, elements, animals and their products were the basic ingredients for their medicines used to create creams and ointments. Such medicines were ingested or inserted into the body or applied to the body’s surface. Over time the properties of each herb were explored and people discovered how each illness could be treated. For example, there were a number of ancient written texts that deal with ear problems such as earache and the most frequently prescribed remedy was the application of pomegranate juice. Another example of a medical remedy used was vegetable oils and the fat of various animals that were applied for skin problems such as skin cancer or chicken pox that came as a result of Mesopotamia’s desert like conditions. Cuneiform tablets suggest that Mesopotamians used salt water for gargling, sour wine as a disinfectant and willow bark (source of aspirin) to relieve fever. By trial and error, Mesopotamians also found that alkaline substances neutralize the stomachs natural acids and reduce the production of pepsin, which irritates the stomach’s lining. The main ingredient in their stomach relief medicines was sodium bicarbonate (baking soda).
Evidence of many of Mesopotamia’s medical techniques can be found in an ancient text called the Diagnostic Handbook dated back to the 11th century inscribed on a clay tablet, that lists symptoms and prognoses.
With all Mesopotamian doctors, before deciding on the treatment, they would examine the patient noting such things as temperature, pulse and reflexes. Some of the illnesses diagnosed and treated in Mesopotamia were intestinal problems such as colic and diarreha and neurological ones such as headaches and epilepsy as well as diseases such as tuberculosis, smallpox and bubonic plague. Cuneiform texts have given historians insights of the practices of medical practitioners. For example, the medical library of Ashurbanipal lists over 250 vegetable substances and over 120 mineral substances with ascribed medical properties and how they have been used to treat certain illnesses. Much of which information we have found useful so have used in some of our medical remedies today.
Knowledge of Anatomy
Medical practitioners had limited knowledge regarding the human body and the different functions of each organ making it difficult for them to gain the medical knowledge required to treat organ related sicknesses. However, they made an effort to study the organs and their functions of animals that they had domesticated such as cattle, to inform themselves on anatomy and how each organ function to give them knowledge of what could be done to improve their medical practices.