Medieval Medicine: What Forms of Treatment Actually Worked and Why They Persist Today
Medieval Medicine: What Forms of Treatment Actually Worked and Why They Persist Today
Medieval medicine, while often tinged with superstition and limited by the technological and scientific understanding of the era, included a variety of treatments that have interesting parallels in today's medical practices. Here, we explore some of the most notable medieval treatments, their effectiveness, and whether they are still in use today.
Effective Medieval Treatments
Blood Letting and Leech Therapy
One of the most prominent practices in medieval medicine was blood letting, which involved removing blood from a patient to balance body fluids. This practice, often performed using leeches, was done under the theory of humorism, an ancient medical theory attributed to Hippocrates and Galen. While modern medicine has largely dismissed this practice due to the risks involved, it was effective for some conditions, such as polycythemia vera and a subset of patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). Today, the use of hydroxychloroquine for viral diseases is often based on anecdotal observations and results in variable outcomes, much like blood letting in the medieval era.
Trepanation
Trepanation, the process of drilling or sawing a hole in the skull, was performed in medieval times to treat various conditions, such as headaches and mental disorders. While modern neurosurgery is vastly superior in both technique and efficacy, the concept of drilling to relieve internal pressure or to treat specific conditions persists in some forms today. For example, transsphenoidal surgery, a technique used to remove pituitary tumors, is a modern application that can be seen as a descendant of medieval trepanation.
Fecal Transplants and Bee Venom Therapy
Fecal transplants, a modern treatment for recurrent Clostridioides difficile infections, have a surprising historical precedent in medieval medicine. While rare, there are records of treating certain conditions with "the milk and poultices of sacred cows," which could be seen as a form of fecal transplants. Bee venom therapy, which uses bee stings to treat conditions like arthritis and fibromyalgia, also draws from historical practices that date back to medieval times.
Understanding the Efficacy and Persistence of Medieval Treatments
It is essential to understand why some medieval treatments were still in use centuries later. Often, these practices were based on sound observations or were effective for a few specific cases while causing harm in others. For instance, the use of variolation to immunize against smallpox, practiced by several cultures long before Edward Jenner's development of vaccination, was a pioneering approach.
Many medieval treatments were also based on overgeneralized anecdotal observations. Hydroxychloroquine's use for viral diseases today is a modern example of this, where the treatment is sometimes beneficial for certain patients while being largely ineffective or even harmful for others. The persistence of some of these treatments in modern medicine underscores the importance of rigorous testing and the scientific method.
Medieval Medical Theories and Practices
Ancient and medieval medicine was largely based on theories about the body that were often wrong. The concept of humorism, for example, suggested that the body was composed of four fluids (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile) that needed to be in balance for good health. Galen, a prominent physician from Pergamum who came to Rome, wrote extensively on these theories. His work was so influential that it shaped medical practice for centuries.
Galen's belief in the medicinal benefits of wine, wine combined with herbs and spices, and his insights into the medicinal use of natural remedies laid the foundation for the rich tradition of medical literature. The Natural History by Pliny the Elder provided an accessible and comprehensive guide to natural remedies, which influenced medieval medical practices.
While many of the theories and practices from the medieval period have been debunked or improved upon, a few treatments and the spirit of experimentation remain. The persistence of some medieval practices in modern medicine is a testament to the enduring nature of useful and innovative medical ideas, even when they are centuries old.