400 B.C.: The Hippocratic Inhaler

The first inhaler was probably invented long before Hippocrates walked the earth in the 5th century B.C.  Yet the first time it was ever recorded was by Hippocrates, or at least by one of the writers of the Hippocratic Corpus.  

The inventor is unknown to history, although one might suspect that a young Greek priest learned about it on one of his journeys, and it appeared to him in a vision at the Aesclepion at Cos.  He provided it as a remedy and it worked for what he was told it would work for.  It was then recorded in the votive tablets.

Many years later, while making his own effort to record the wisdom of the ancients, Hippocrates would have learned of this inhaler.  He wrote about it in his Hippocratic Corpus.  

Of course he didn't refer to it as an inhaler, of course not, as the term wasn't coined yet.  Also, chances are pretty good the inhaler he learned about was not used for asthma, or even asthma-like symptoms, but some other unknown malady.  Yet it may have been used for asthma at some point.

So, in the Corpus Hippocrates mentions this inhaler-like device.  The model basically consisted of a jar with a hole in the lid for the insertion of a hollow reed for inhaling the contents. The mouth was saved from burns by use of a soft sponge or egg shells between the mouth and reed.  (1, page 461)

Boiling water would be inserted into the jar, perhaps a recipe of medicines, the lid placed atop the jar, the reed stick inserted through the hole.  The patient would inhale by placing his mouth on the reed stick.  It was a simple design and must have worked quite well, because it was the design used by physicians for many years.

Hippocrates also described fumigations, which probably would have been of smoke or steam.  This treatment might have been more readily available than the inhaler.  (2, page 241)

However, it should be noted that the most common use of fumigations and the inhaler was probably not for respiratory ailments.

For instance, he recommended fumigation to induce menstuation in virgins.  He
recommended fumigation, among other treatments, as a option when a female had pituitous (mucousy) menstruation, or when female hysteria results form displacement of her uterus, which might cause sterility.  It was also recommended when a female could not feel her infant moving in the uterus at four or five months. He also recommended it for severe ulcers, among other similar non-respiratory ailments.  (2, page 300, 304)

He did, however, recommend fumigations for certain types of phthisis, although mainly for spinal tuberculosis and not the pulmonary type. (2, page 281)

He also recommended inhalation for quinsy, or the various diseases that causes swelling of the throat. He also recommended inhalation for angina. (2, page 281, 260-262)

Getting back to the inhaler, many believe it was the Hippocratic Inhaler that was fine tuned during the 19th century when the first two inhalers were manufactured and placed on the market.

References: 

1. Glasgow Medical Journal, Volume 14 By Glasgow and West of Scotland Medical Association, Royal Medico-Chirurgical Society of Glasgow
2. Hippocrates, Claudius Galen, writers,  John Redman Coxe, translator, "Hippocrates, the Writings of Hippocrates and Galen," 1846, http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/1988, accessed 7/6/14, also see the book online at Google books, Philadelphia, Lindsay and Blakiston

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639-322 B.C.: Greek medicine was key

While medicine existed within the confines of other ancient civilizations, it came to a culmination in ancient Greece, particularly during the Age of Philosophers. With slaves were doing all the work, Greek citizens had time to ponder about the world around them and search for answers.  They visited all the sages of the world, adding what they learned to the pantheon of Greek philosophy.

Among this wisdom was all that was known about medicine, and, in this way, during a period of only a few hundred years, Greek philosophy became the key to all medical wisdom.  Those who had access to it would have the best physicians in the world.  Those who did not would be left in the dark ages of medicine.

It all began with Thales of Miletus.

1. Thales of Miletus (639-544 B.C.): Garrison, in his 1922 history of medicine, said "he was taught under Egyptian priests, and taught that water is the primary element from which all else is derived." (1)

2. Anaximander of Miletus (611 B.C.): Garrison said "he mapped the heavens and made a successful prediction of an eclipse."(1) Perhaps he did this while working with Thales, because Sigerist credited Thales as accomplishing this feat. He believed the common elements were fire, air, water and earth, and their qualities were wet, dry, hot and cold. He believed they were all caused by a primary substance. From this the idea of two primary elements with opposite qualities was born. In a healthy person they were in balance. This theory would go on to become a significant part of Greek medical theory. (2, page 91) It must be assumed her that he did not create these elements and qualities, simply introduced them into Greek philosophy.

3. Pythagoras of Samos at Crotona (580-489 B.C.): Garrison said he studied in Egypt and it is probably from here that he "acquired his doctrine of the mystic power of numbers... (of which) the numbers three and four represent the worlds, the spheres, and the primordial elements" (earth, air, fire, water). He was also the first to associate the brain as the "central organ of higher activities." (1)

Sigerist said that while he believed in the elements and qualities, he believed the number was the most significant. He said:

Among the numbers, four played a significant part, for it seemed logical that two pairs of forces with opposite qualities would constitute an ideal balance, and we shall see that this view had a profound influence on medical theory, as had the Pythagorean doctrine of opposites of its dualistic form in general. These opposites were necessary to explain the harmony of the world. (2, page 97)

He believed that a balance of the internal qualities must be achieved in order to
maintain health, and this was maintained by "practicing moderation." When a person was unhealthy it was because the balance was disturbed. Health was therefore re-established physically by medicine, and mentally by music. (2, page 96-98)

Neuburger said some of the internal materials present in the body that needed to be balanced were cold, moist, warm, dry, sweet, and bitter. Empedocles would later limit these to four.   (13, page 107)

As can be assumed with some degree of accuracy, he basically compiled all the wisdom of the sages of the world, and all the wisdom of the earlier philosophers of Greece, and created a large following who listened to his lectures. He even organized his followers into a school, and in this way he made philosophy popular in Greece, and is often given credit for giving birth to the Age of Philosophers in ancient Greece.

You can read more about Thales, Anaximander, and Pythagoras in this post. (1)

4. Anaximenes of Miletus (570-500 B.C.): He lived about the same time as Pythagoras. Garrison said he "assumed that indivisible matter (earth?), air, or fire respectively are the primordial elements."(1) Sigerist said he believed that of the elements of earth, air, fire and water, that air was the primary element. Of this, Sigerist said: (2, page 92)

He wrote a book of which one sentence has survived: "As our soul, being air, holds us together, so do breath and air surround the whole universe." (2, page 92)

He believed air was essential for sustaining life, and that it was also evident in the soul. He believed air was the primary element because he believed the others were "born from it through changes of density," said Sigerist, "through rarification (decrease in pressure) and condensation (increase in pressure)." (5, page 92)

Sigerist continued, "Rarified air became fire, and heat was generated in the process, while condensed air became water and finally earth, and produced cold. This was a logical explanation, and breath or air came to play an increasingly important part in biology." (2, page 92)

5. Heraclitus of Ephesus (556-460 B.C.): Similar contributions as Anaximenes.(1) Sigerist said he believed everything changes constantly, and therefore he believed the primary element was fire because it causes things to change. He believed fire produced air, water and earth. Fire, like war, causes strife, and the polar opposite of war and fire causes peace and unity (or balance).

Sigerist quotes him as saying: (2, page 93)

That which is in opposition is in concert, and from things that differ comes the most beautiful harmony." (2, page 93)

Sigerist said that, quoting Heraclitus along the way, "It is through opposites that we become aware of things. Disease 'makes health pleasant; evil, good; hunger, plenty; weariness, rest.' And everything in the world moves according to eternal laws. These very principles, unity of the world, eternal changing of all things caused by tension, and law and order ruling the world, were principles which proved to be strong stimulants to scientific research." (5, page 93-94)

You can read more about his theory of opposites by clicking here.

6. Anaxagorus of Clazomenae (500-428 B.C.): He assumed the four elements (earth, air, fire, water) to be made up of as many parts or 'seed' as there are varieties of sensible or perceptible matter. (1)

7.  Empedocles of Agrigentuin in Sicily (504-443 B.C.): Medical historian Edward Withington said he first mentioned the four elements, which would later influence Greek medicine, in the following poem:  (7, page 45)

Listen, first, while I sing the four-fold root of creation,
Fire, and water, and earth, and the boundless height and the aether, For therefrom is begotten what is, what was, and what shall be. (7, page 45)

Withington explained that by... 

"...substituting air for aether, this is the doctrine of the four elements, which Empedocles introduced into philosophy, and which, with the co responding four qualities, heat, cold, moisture, and dryness, and the four humours, blood, phlegm, black and yellow bile, lies the basis of Greek medical theories." (7, page 45)

Fielding Hudson Garrison verifies this, adds to its significance.  He said:

"He introduced into philosophy the doctrine of the elements (earth, air, fire, water) as 'the four fold root of all things.'  The human body is supposed to be made up of these primordial substances, health resulting from their balance, disease from imbalance.  He holds that nothing can be created or destroyed, and that there is only transformation, which is the modern theory of conservation of energy.  Everything originates from the attraction of the four elements and is destroyed by their repulsion, and he applies the same idea, under the forms of love and hate, to the moral world.  Development is due to the union of dissimilar elements, decay to the return of like to like (air to air, fire to fire, earth to earth)." (1, pages 80)

The association between the four elements, four qualities, four humors, four basic organs, four seasons, and the four personalities can be seen by the following chart.

Element	Quality	Humor (Greek)	Combination	Organ	Season/ Cause	Personality Temperament
Fire	Hot	Blood/ Haima	Wet & Hot	Heart	Spring/ Energetic Hopeful	Sanguine: jovial, social
Air	Dry	Yellow Bile/ Choli	Dry & Hot	Liver	Summer/ Diseases	Choleric: fussy, irritable
Earth	Cold	Black Bile/ Melanchia	Dry & Cold	Spleen Stomach	Autumn/ Melancholy Depressed	Melancholy: depressed, gloomy
Water	Wet	Phlegm/ Phlegm	Wet & Cold	Brain Lungs	Winter/ Coughs, Colds	Phlegmatic: peaceful, laid back

You will see the significance of these played out in pretty much any history of mankind, and definitely in any history of medicine.  While some contribute these to various different authors (Aristotle sometimes gets credit for the four elements, and Hippocrates for the four humors), it is the great Empedocles to which they may all be traced back to.

He believed that respiration, along with occurring through the lungs, also occurred through tiny pores in the skin.  (13, page 108-109)

While Empedocles probably wasn't the first to conceive of the idea that something in the air inhaled was essential to life, he created the theory of pneuma.  Pneuma was a substance in the air that contained a vital spirit.  It flowed through the body by veins, providing life to the organs.  It was responsible for movement, consciousness and perception.

8,  Democritus of Abdera (460-370 B.C.):  He was a student of Leucippus, and believed the mind and body were composed of corpuscles or atoms that were solids and unchangeable.  In this way, he believed living things were made of these solid atoms as compared to the humours of Hippocrates.  (14)

He believed the atoms were organized and arranged within the human body by a natural mechanism. (8, page 23)  He believed that inflammation was an accumulation of phlegm.  He believed the "widespread appearance of epidemic disease was... due to the disseminated atoms of shattered heavenly bodies." (13, page 110)

9.  Hippocrates (460-370 B.C.):   Prior to Hippocrates, methods of treating diseases were relatively simple, and taught mostly by word of mouth.  However, stored in the Asclepions were votive tablets, and these contained lists of diseases and their cures.  Hippocrates was the first to take all this wisdom and publish it into a compilation of 60 treaties called the Corpus Hippocraticum.

He believed air was inhaled, and this air contained pneuma.  He actually referred to "breath" as the pneuma, and this pneuma (or breath) flowed through the veins, such as was noted by Empedocles.  In health its flow through the body was unimpeded.

He believed that within each person was a combination of the following qualities: (14)

• Acid
• Saline
• Acerb
• Bitter
• Mild
• Insipid
• Austere (14)

He said each of these was...

...possessed of different powers, in proportion to their quantity and degree of strength. All of these, when well united, and tempered by each other, are insensible to us, and do no injury; but if one should separate, and exist alone, it then becomes sensible, and ravages the system. It is the same with aliment. That which is improper for us, is either bitter, saline, acid, or too strong. (14)

Healthy food, such as bread, barley and cakes, "causes no uneasiness, or any separation of the particles of the humours of the body, and serving only to strengthen, nourish, and promote its growth. All these benefits arise from its well-attempered state, in which nothing predominates, nothing is irritating, nothing too strong. Every thing is reduced to a point, so as to be esteemed simple, homogeneous, and at the same time, of adequate strength." (14)

However, in the process of making such food, things like fire and water are employed, "each having its own peculiar powers and qualities. (The food) loses part of what it had, and what remains is a compound mixture." (14)
In this way, each type of food has its own particular qualities, such that bread has different qualities than cakes. Likewise, depending on how it was prepared, two different loaves of bread may have unique qualities. (14)

Hippocrates believed, therefore, that eating the wrong food, or too much of the good food, or food that was not prepared correctly, or food that was not part of that person's normal diet, might upset the unity and homeostasis within the body. This, in turn, leads to changes in the four qualities and four humors of Empedocles.

Medical historian Edward Meryon said Hippocrates must have studied the works of Democritus, who believed that a natural process usually worked to maintain a balance (homeostasis, unity) of the atoms.  Hippocrates believed a natural process usually worked to maintain four qualities and four humors of Empodocles in order to maintain health.  Hippocrates taught that any imbalance of the qualities or humors within a person was the cause of disease.  (8, page 23)

Nature worked to maintain balance in health, and to re-establish balance in sickness.  He believed imbalances were generally the result of eating the wrong foods, or changes in the wind, or changes in the temperature, or changes humidity.

His remedies were generally gentle, and merely worked to assist nature in the healing process.  They included simple things such as getting plenty of sleep, taking a bath, eating healthy, and exercise.  

He believed in the maxim:

"Merely give nature a chance, and diseases will cure themselves."  (3, pages x-xii)

His ideas would transform medicine from one of mythology and philosophy taught at the Asclepions, to a "distinct department of practical knowledge" that could be learned by anyone.  (9)

10.  Plato (427-347 B.C.):  He was a student of Socrates, and became famous for recording the wisdom of the great philosopher.  He then became a famous philosopher himself.  As was normal for the era he was born into, he was educated in all the knowledge of the day, including medicine.

Garison said that his main contribution to medicine was that "In pathology, the plastic significance of the number four was combined with the doctrine of the four elements." This can be seen here (in parenthesis is our modern correspondence): (1)

• hot + dry = fire (hydrogen)
• cold + dry = earth (oxygen)
• hot + moist = air (carbon)
• cold + moist = water (nitrogen) (1)

These could also result in the following:

• hot + moist = blood
• cold + moist = phlegm
• hot + dry = yellow bile
• cold + dry = black bile

The various combinations of these resulted in both the aspect of disease and the action of the drugs used to treat them.  Each person had a unique combination of these and maintained the equilibrium in times of health. Disease was a result of increases and decreases of any of the above.  Health was re-established by making the necessary adjustments.  (1)

Plato believed in the Pythagorean Theory of Opposites, although he also believed there was a "third element mediating between a pair of opposites." He believed the soul completed "the human trinity of body, soul and spirit."   (12, pages 2-4)

He believed the body consisted of a soul with three parts: (11, page 23)

• Rational Soul: Created by the brain 
• Animal Soul: Created in the chest and is responsible for emotions and passions
• Vegetable Soul: Created in the abdomen and controlled physiological needs (11, page 23)

While Plato didn't create any of these ideas, he helped to keep them alive by his fame.  He would also relay this wisdom to his famous pupil, Aristotle.   

11.  Aristotle (384-322):  He was born in Stagira to a wealthy family. His father, Nicomachus, was personal physician to Amyntas, king of Macedon.  He probably learned quite a bit about medicine from his father before being instructed by Plato when he was 17.  (6, page 3)

He would spend about 20 years in Athens as a student at Plato's academy, and then as a teacher. Some speculate he left after not being chosen as Plato's successor upon Plato's death in 347 B.C.  Some speculate the reason Aristotle was not chosen, and why he left Athens, was because Aristotle was known to debate and disagree with Plato.  He moved from Athens and continued his work elsewhere. (6, pages 3-5)

Regardless, he basically supported the same ideas regarding medicine as Plato. He believed in the four elements, qualities, and humors. He believed that a balance or imbalance of these determined health and sickness.  (1)

While he believed in the elements of Empedocles, he attempted to add a fifth element that he called aether, a substance that made up what was seen in the sky at night, such as the stars, sun, planets, comets, etc.  He was not the first to write about the elements and their qualities, although by the fame he acquired by being the instructor of Alexander the Great, he was able to increase public awareness of them.

While he was not a physician, and is known mainly for his contributions to philosophy, he did make some significant contributions to medicine.  Considering he was unable to dissect human beings, he spent most of his time at the dissecting table studying plants and animals.  He was known for his faith in nature, claiming that "Nature does nothing uselessly."  (5)

12. Erasistratus (304-250 B.C.)  He was among the first Greek anatomists.  He was the beneficiary of the new city, Alexandria, created by Alexander the Great. After Alexander died before he was 32 years old, Ptolomy decided to make Alexandria the leading place of wisdom and science in the world, so he gave the physicians at Alexandria permission to dissect human beings.  Among these physicians was Erasistratus, who discovered and learned much about the inner workings of the human body.  Some say he even went as far as to dissect living human beings, but all in the name of advancing science and wisdom.

He disregarded the idea the four humors caused disease, and believed that diseases like pneumonia were caused by changes in the body, such as inflammation of the lungs.  This is the type of wisdom that might have been expounded upon if it wasn't considered sacrosanct to dissect the human body through much of the ancient world.

13. Herophilus (335-280 B.C.): He was the other leading physician at the school of Alexandria, and he likewise participated in dissection of the human body in a quest to improve wisdom and science. Unlike Erasistratus, he supported Hippocrates and his humoral ideas.

14.  Galen:  He was born during the Roman Civilization, although he still lived in Greece.  He lived in Pergamum, a city that was ruled by the Romans, but that still lived under Greek culture.  Galen learned from all the above physicians, and he basically combined the works of all these great men, particularly combining the theories of Hippocrates with the anatomical discoveries of Erasistratus and Herophilus.

He believed in the humoral theories of health and sickness of Hippocrates. However, while Hippocrates was not concerned with anatomy of the body, Galen came up with theories of how each organ participated in the organisms life giving process.

Galen also believed in the Aristotelian idea that nature makes no flaws, and perhaps from him Galen obtained his belief that God created only perfect human beings, and therefore each part of the body had a perfect function.

Through his writings he described the faculties of nature, whereby each part of the body (veins, arteries, organs, etc.) performed a distinct function in order to maintain life, health and longevity.

He absorbed the idea of Plato of the power of three parts of the soul, although he referred to them as spirit.

• Natural Spirit: Formed in the liver and flowed through the body by veins to the various organs. 
• Animal Spirit: Formed in the brain and responsible for sensation and intelligence
• Vital Spirit: Formed in the heart when air mixed with blood, and flowed through the arteries to the various organs.  It consisted of passions. 

He believed the person ingested food, the food was cooked in the stomach, turned into chyle, sent to the liver by veins, and turned into blood in the liver.  The liver added natural spirit and nutrients to the blood, and sent it to the right ventricle of the  heart to be purified.  The blood was turned into a light, frothy substance so it could enter the lungs, and returned to the right ventricle of the heart as purified blood that ebbed and flowed through the entire system to provide natural spirit and nutrients to the body through the veins.

Some blood from the right ventricle was transferred to the left ventricle by invisible pores. This blood was mixed with air that was inhaled by the lungs. Since the heart was hot and controlled the temperature of the body, the cool air was needed to cool the heart. Air also contained pneuma, and so when the air and pneuma mixed with blood in the left ventricle, it formed vital spirit. This substance was responsible for the passions of the person, and was transferred through the body by the arterial system.

Some arterial blood went to the brain by vessels from the heart to the brain.  Here this blood was mixed with animal spirit and sensations and intelligence.  These were transported through the body by the various nerves.

His ideas of health and healing were similar to Hippocrates, although he believed changes that occur within one organ can effect the body as a whole.  For example, asthma was caused by increased phlegm in the lungs, epilepsy was caused by increased phlegm in the brain, fever was caused by increased blood, etc.

His remedy was to treat contraries with contraries, or to treat whatever was the suspected cause with the opposite.  If someone has too much phlegm, for example, Galen may have the patient drink a purgative or emetic to expectorate the excess phlegm.

Since Galen was the very last of the Greek and Roman physicians when Rome collapsed, and because he wrote so much about it, his works continued to be worshiped for greater than the next 1,500 years.  Basically, Greek medicine survived the dark ages through the works of Galen.

During the Middle Ages the Catholic Church accepted the medical writings of Galen, perhaps because he believed that God created only perfect human beings. This fit into the Christian belief that god made no flaws.  During this time, anyone who spoke out against the writings of Galen was greatly ridiculed, and sometimes severely punished, sometimes with death.  (4, page 113)

So during the dark ages of medicine, Galen became a god, of sorts, of medicine. His works were like the Bible to physicians. In this way, Greek medicine was the key, or the foundation of all medical knowledge. It would only be from using this key that any future advancements in medicine would be made.

References:

1. *The above characters and descriptions are taken from Fielding Hudson Garrison's book, "An introduction to the history of medicine," pages 80-83.  The same information can be obtained in many medical history books, with Garrison's, in my opinion, being the most pithy for our purposes.  
2. Sigerist, Henry E, "A History of Medicine: Early Greek, Hindu and Persian Medicine," Volume II ", 1961, Oxford University Press, pages 88-99
3. Brock, John, "Galen on the natural faculties," 1916, London, New York, William Heinemann, G.P. Putnam's Sons
4. Bendick, Jeanne, Galen and the gateway to medicine," 2002, San Fransisco, Ignatius Press
5. Dunn, P.M., "Aristotle (284-322 B.C.): philosopher and scientist of ancient Greece," Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed., January, 2006, 91(1): F75–F77.
6. Lloyd, G.E.R., "Aristotle: The growth and structure of his thought," 1999, UK, Cambridge University Press
7. Withington, Edward Theodore, "Medical History from the earliest times: A popular history of the art of medicine," 1894, London, The Scientific Press
8. Meryon, Edward, "The History of Medicine," Volume I, 1861, London, 
9. Watson, John, "The Medical Profession from the Earliest Times: an anniversary discourse delivered before the New York Academy of Medicine November 7, 1855," 1856, New York, Baker & Godwin 
10. Hippocrates, "The art of medicine in former times," epitomised from the Original Latin translations, by John Redman Coxe, "The writings of Hippocrates and Galen," 1846, Philadelphia,  Lindsay and Blakiston
11. Weckowicz, T.E., H.P. Liebel-Weckowicz, "A history of great ideas in abnormal psychology," 1990, North-Holland, Elsevier Science Publishing Company, Inc. 
12. Nash, John, "Plato: A Forerunner," The Beacon, July/August, 2004, pages 18-24
13. Neuburger, Max, writer, "History of Medicine," 1910, translated by Ernest Playfair, Volume I, London, Oxford University Press
14. Berryman, Sylvia, "Democritus," from the book "The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy," http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/democritus/, 2010, accessed 12/22/13
Hippocrates, "The Art of Medicine," "The writings of Hippocrates and Galen," Epitomized from teh original Latin translations by John Redman Coxe, 1846, Philadelphia, Lindsay and Blakiston

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870 B.C.: The first description of artificial resuscitation

Elijah resuscitating a child 

Similar to other ancient civilizations, the Jews believed life and death, health and sickness, was the result of the desires of their God, the Lord.  Likewise, in the rare cases when a person was believed to be dead and then brought back to life, this was due to the wishes of their God, the Lord.

No one knows what they called it, although by the 18th century it was referred to as reanimation, and by the mid 20th century it was referred to as resuscitation.

Both terms work equally well, as animate comes from the Latin term anamatus which comes from anima, meaning "to give life to" or to breathe. It may also come from the Greek word anemos for wind.  Likewise, suscitate is a Latin term for "to stir up or rouse." (1)

The first description of an animation or a suscitation was when, through Adam, God created Eve: 

Adam was all alone in the garden with no one to help him. So, God put Adam into a deep sleep and took one of his ribs and formed it into a woman to be Adam's wife. Adam named her "Eve."

The work of the Lord could also be done through a prophet.  The Lord God had many prophets over the years covered in the Bible, among the first was a prophet named Elijah.  He is believed to have lived in the Northern Kingdom of Israel sometimes around 870 or 850 years before the birth of Christ.  

He is described as performing many miracles through the assistance of the Lord. In the First Book of Kings he is described as resuscitating (or reanimating).  A Sidonian widow woman was taking care of him during a drought when her son fell ill and became apparently dead.  She approached Elijah with the body of her son: 

Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”

“Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”

The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”

Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.” (Kings 1: 17-24)

The Sidonian widow at first appears to be angry at Elijah and his God for allowing her child to become sick and to die. Perhaps she doubts Elijah because she is a Sidonian widow and not an Israelite. Once the miracle is performed, however, she no longer has any doubts that he is a prophet of the Lord.

Elijah "stretched himself out on the boy three times." Why is this such a vague description?  It was because the authors of the Bible were not concerned with what Elijah did, as all the Jewish people needed to know about medicine was that the Lord brings sickness and health.  By obeying the Lord, the Lord will heal.  By disobeying the Lord, the Lord will not heal.  That's all people needed to know.

They did not need to know that Elijah was educated in all the wisdom of the land. They did not need to know that among his education involved knowledge of physics, chemistry, philosophy, mathematics, and medicine.  They did not need to know that the procedure he performed on the boy was a method of artificial resuscitation.   What he did, the method he used, was only eluded to because it did not matter. 

References:

1. Definitions come from merriam-webster.com,  http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/animate and http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suscitate, accessed 9/26/2013

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4000-539 B.C.: First civilizations advance medicine, part 1

To understand how you might have been treated if you were sick in the ancient world, it's important to understand where and how people lived back then, and what people believed.  Medicine was often blended in with mythology, and mythology was based on the culture formed by the land and the people living among it. 

Random and violent flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers created a "fertile crescent" in and around the land between the two rivers.  For over a thousand years groups of people migrated to the area, and ultimately came together to create the world's first civilization.  If you were short of breath, this change would have a significant impact on your life, and your options for a cure.

Mesopotamia was not a civilization; it was a term used by the ancient Greeks in reference to the land between two rivers.  Likewise, since Mesopotamia refers to the land between the two rivers only, "It is, therefore, an inaccurate designation for Babylonia and Assyria, since it does not include the Euphrates Valley."  (15, page 1)

Sometime around 10,000 B.C. people who migrated to the area, and those who continued to migrate into it, found that its rich soils were ideal for the cultivation of plants.  People quickly learned about the various crops in the area:  flax, date palm, leeks, millet, sesame, onions, lentils, wheat and barley.  They also learned about fruit, such as figs and grapes, and various herbs and spices. Around 9,000 B.C. they learned to plant their own crops and tame the animals that lived there. They built huts of reed and mud (clay), and lived amid the landscape which consisted of a plethora of palm and olive trees. 

Scene of Sumerian City-State (http://oxford.library.emory.edu)

They learned quickly that managing the land, and irrigating the crops, took a major effort, and it was nearly impossible to tackle mother nature while working solo.  So it only made sense for the various groups of people in the area to work together for the common good.  They pooled their minds, labor and time and came up with methods of building impressive aqueducts and channels for controlling the flow of water through the land to irrigate the crops. Clans and families turned into villages, which turned into towns, which turned into cities, which, by around 3,500 or 3,000 B.C,. grew into huge cities, each wrapped around a temple on a hill where a god or goddess lived. 

Since the cities each had their own governments, and since there was no government connecting the cities, these cities were referred to as city-states. The largest of these city-states were Ur, Urek, Eridu, Lagash, and Kish. (Kishinger, page 20-21)

Yet as individual clans and families must have realized they could not manage the land alone, so the various kings must have gotten together and come up with some form of treaties.  They must have figured that by working together they could better protect the crops from mother nature and from the plunder of savage people.

Perhaps after a massive flood, or a massive attempt at plunder, one of these kings stepped up as supreme ruler of all Sumeria.  This would have been one of the key moments in the creation of civilization.  The king would have amassed the the armies into one huge military to defeat enemies and protect the nations who volunteered soldiers to the effort.

Yet all this good came as a result of destruction. People migrated to this area because food was plentiful, yet this was only possible due to the flooding of the rivers, which, unlike those of the Nile, were completely random and unpredictable.  As waters quickly spread across the land it wiped out everything in its path, including homes, crops, animals, and humans.  Yet it was by living through this chaos for many years that the men and women of the region learned to manage the waters and perhaps the people as well.

So if civilization grew out of chaos, we can also say that learning how to manage civilization also grew out of chaos.  At first the various groups of people would have worked independently, perhaps even fighting among another.  Some would have been fortunate to beat the floods and prospered, while others would have failed and either perished or forced to start anew.  Those who failed would have been eager to learn the methods of those who succeeded, and this in and of itself may have been the seed of the more advanced civilization that rose from the lands around Mesopotamia.

Perhaps one of the first problems of all these people coming together was the inability to agree on what to do and how to do it.  Plus there would have been the natural yearning to greed and lust, and perhaps this drove some people to fight their peers for power and glory.  There would have been disagreements, and sometimes all out fights, some perhaps to the death.  There would have been fights as to who would be king of Ur, or Urek, or Eridu, or Lagash, or Kish.

Regardless of who won these inner-city battles, the leaders of each of these city-states must have gotten together for a massive blending of their minds. It must have been agreed upon early on that some form of government was needed.  So each city-state initially agreed to vote for a leader, or governor, or king, who served a term.  This governor made rules for the city-state, perhaps with the permission of a group of elder sages and a group of warriors.  With their guidance and permission they decided how to get the people to work together for the common good.  Then the king's term ended and another ruler was selected for that city-state. (Foster, page 46)

They put their ideas together and this resulted in a series of discoveries and inventions that made it easier to manage the lands.  They invented better tools for tilling the land and building structures.  They invented the potters wheel so making pottery was easier and quicker.  They learned how to build aqueducts and channels to manage the floods and flow of water through the land, and temples to house the gods and the people (the god's slaves).

Yet their would have been the development of individual pride and envy, and greed and lust, among the rulers of the people.  Then there would have been continuous disagreements among the assembly of elders. There would have been all out fights, sometimes to the death.  At some point there must have been a massive flood that destroyed all that had been made by the Sumerians, and one of these kings stepped forward to be the supreme ruler of all the land. Or perhaps there was an increase in the number of ox stolen by savages who were trying to feed their own families.

Regardless, one of these kings was granted supreme power over all the city states to get over some crisis.  After the crisis was over he probably gave back his power.  Yet there must have been one king whose ego grew so huge that he believed he could remain king forever.  He wanted to rule all of the then known world.  He refused to give back his power.  The gods and legends of his city-state became known to all of Sumeria, and the main god of his city-state moved to the head of the hierarchy of Mesopotamian gods.

The king of one of the other city-states was unhappy about being controlled by this one ruler, and his pride grew.  Perhaps this was the king of Urek.  He surreptitiously gathered his asspembly of elders, and he petitioned them to attack the ruling city-state, and defeat the supreme king.  But the assembly of elders, perhaps, refused to grant the king this power.  Yet the king refused to give in, so he had his men murder the members of the assembly who disagreed with him, and he sent his troops to war anyway.  He won battles in stunning fashion, perhaps surprising the ruling party.

To be continued...

References:  See post "2000 B.C.:  Assyrian physicians will treat your dyspnea"

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4004 B.C.: The beginning of Time?

At some point early on in human existence men and women grew curious about the their surroundings, and they began to ask questions. In essence, as the Biblical allegory says, they ate from the tree of knowledge.

Thus, as noted by Alexander Wilder in his 1901 "History of Medicine:"

By such eating of the Tree of Knowledge, the eyes become open, and the man is as a god. He makes “the divinest conquest of the human intellect." (1, page 2)

When was this tree of knowledge planted, no one knows for sure.  According to the Bible, God created Adam and Eve, and they lived in the Garden of Eden, and this was the beginning of time.

According to Patricia D. Netzley, in her 1998 book "The Stone Age," "some editions of the King James Bible even offered the date of Creation: as 4004 B.C. This date was developed by a religious scholar, an Irish archbishop named James Usher, who used time reference in the bible to construct a system of biblical chronology."  (5, page 18)

This actually makes sense, considering a written language was supposedly invented in Mesopotamia around 3200 B.C., and subsequently, this language made its way to Egypt.  This means it was at about this time when all the information from the past was written down for the first time, information such as:

• Myths
• Legends
• Religions
• Laws
• Recipes for foods
• Recipes for remedies

Prior to this time, this information was relayed by word of mouth, probably by words turned into lyrics and relayed by poems recited or songs sung around the fires late in the evening under the moonless sky, or somewhere on a cold and snowy evening in a cave around a warm fire.  Chances are these stories were altered each time they were told.

The creation of a written language allowed for these stories to be recorded for all of history, assuring that they would no longer be altered when retold.    

Since there was no ability to write prior to about 3200 B.C., each generation had to start from scratch, and so it's probable the information relayed must have been kept very simple, as can be noted by some of the early Biblical stories.  The stories of creation, of Adam and Eve, and of the Tower of Babylon are all very pithy stories, mere summaries of true events.

For most of us, history begins from the time we were born.  So it only makes sense that events that occurred 800 years before you were born, if not shared with you, did not exist.  Yet this all changed sometime around 4004 B.C, or when written language was available.

Interestingly enough, this date was believed to be accurate well into the 19th century, and even into the 20th century for some.  Many of the history books I read in preparing to write this history referred to the Bible for the earliest evidence of our history.

According to the people who wrote the Bible, this history was 100 percent accurate, and this was given the limited knowledge of human history at that time.

Now, I'm not implying that Biblical stories aren't true, I'm merely saying they are but summaries of true events.  Biblical stories were, in essence, allegorical.  This is not a knock on the Bible, as this was simply how stories were told during Biblical times.

When stone tools were discovered from time to time, they were usually classified as things like "petrified thunderbolts, fairy arrows, exhalations of the clouds," said Netzley.  By the 1600s, however, "scholars suggested that these ancient items might somehow be related to human activity."  (2, page 17-18)

When dinosaur bones were discovered, they were thought to be bones of the animals kept on the arc, or animals that were killed by the great flood.  

Historians have proven that the stories in he Old Testament really did happen, and provide us with an accurate depiction of human history.

However, there is evidence that human activity persisted long before the beginning of Biblical times.  There is also evidence of knowledge, diseases, remedies, and even doctors prior to 4004 B.C.

References:

1. Wilder, Alexander, "History of Medicine, a brief outline of medical history and sects of physicians, from the earliest historic period; with an extended account of the new schools of the healing art in the nineteenth century, and especially a history of the American eclectic practice of medicine, never before published," 1901, Maine, New England Eclectic Publishing Co.
2. Netzley, Patricia D, "World History Series: The Stone Age," 1998, San Diego, CA, Lucent Books

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5000-50 B.C.: Hebrew health and healing

Perhaps the first description of artificial respiration
is when Elisha resurrects a Shunammite boy

Each ancient Hebrew village had a physician who specialized in medicine and a surgeon. Some specialized in internal medicine, some external medicine, and others both.  (3, page 28-29) Permission to practice medicine had to be obtained by the magistrates where the physician wished to settle.  If you were sick (perhaps with asthma) you had the option of seeking out this physician to heal you.

This physician, however, also must obtain permission from the Beth-din, which was the council of the town.  Did the doctor have to pass a test? Was he interviewed? What questions were asked? Did he otherwise have to prove his competency? The answers to these questions remain a mystery, explains Robley Dunglison in his 1872 history of medicine. (4, page 31-32)

Jewish physicians were knowledgeable of the basics of anatomy, although their knowledge was quite primitive, as it was for most ancient societies.  They did not understand the concept of internal diseases, and the link between anatomy and disease.  However, as noted by Garrison, they did have a basic understanding of the most common diseases that left visible signs, such as leprosy, syphilis, phthisis, scabies, anthrax, epilepsy, and the various plagues (such as the plague of Ball Peor described Numbers 25: 9 in which 24,000 perished). (7, page 59)

The best remedy was the one preached by Moses: good hygiene.  This included bathing, hand washing, sexual restraint, etc. Although, if someone did get sick, the remedies were simple.  For instance, the remedy for leprosy was washing in the Jordan, or "dipping seven times in the Jordan. (2 Kings 5: 14)" (7, page 59-60)

These physicians were educated in "sanitary administration and jurisprudence," says Puschmann.  Along with good hygiene, they were also required to do other things to prevent disease, which included circumcision.  (3, page 28-29)

While modern science has disproved this theory, ancient people believed uncircumcised penises were more likely to become infected.  This was how circumcision made its way into the Bible.

Physicians were also, as noted by Garrison, required to isolate people with infectious disease such as leprosy, syphilis, gonorrhea and leukorrhea, as noted in Leviticus 12-15. (7, page 60)

This was another significant measure of preventing healthy people from getting these diseases.  It must also have been observed that many diseases were spread through sexual contact, and so sexual abstinence prior to marriage was encouraged, and loyalty to one man or one woman was also encouraged.

Puschmann notes that when a person was sick he called upon his physician, who paid the sick a visit. Then the physician was paid by the sick or his family, and not by a collective tax. (3, page 28-29)

Although, "Jewish medicine was almost exclusively a medicine of the state, not a private profession," writes Thomas Bradford in his 1898 book "Quiz questions on the history of medicine." (9, page 9)(5, page 31)

The neat thing about ancient people such as Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Hebrews, is you didn't have to be a physicians to be an expert in medicine, says Puschman.

He said this was because medicine was included in the list of knowledge taught at schools.  It would be like going to college today for Journalism or respiratory therapy, and having to take classes in math, English and Business.  So many of the people mentioned in the Bible, particularly prophets such as Solomon, Elijah, Elisha and Ahijah, had medical wisdom, and this wisdom allowed them to "become famous for their successful cures."  (3, page 29)

Baas said King Solomon (who reigned 1020-980 B.C.) was a prophet who had the ability to cure, (2, page 32) and Bradford said of Solomon that "tradition attributes to him a medical work which taught how to cure diseases by natural means. Arabian authorities assert that he left a history of plants and animals, and a number of other works." (9, page 8)

There are various, and random, references to the healing powers of the prophets in the Bible.  Elisha, who lived in the 9th century B.C., healed the water that causes miscarriages:

Some men from Jericho went to Elisha and said, "As you know, sir, this is a fine city, but the water is bad and causes miscarriages." Elisha said, "Put some salt in a bowl and bring it to me." They brought it to him, and he went to the spring, threw in the salt in the water, and said, "This is what the Lord says: 'I make this water pure, and it will not cause any more  deaths or miscarriages.'" And that water has been pure ever since, just as Elisha said it would be. (Kings 2: 19-22)

Elisha also resurrected a Shunammite's son:

When Elisha arrived, he went alone into the room and saw the boy lying dead on the bed.  He closed the door and prayed to the Lord. Then he lay down on the boy, placing his mouth, eyes, and hands on the boy's mouth, eyes, and hands.  As he lay stretched out over the boy, the boy's body started to get warm.  Elisha got up, walked around the room, and then went back and again stretched himself over the boy.  The boy sneezed seven times and then opened his eyes.  Elisha called Gehazi and told him to call the boy's mother.  When she came in, he said to her, "Here's your son." She fell at Elisha's feet, with her face touching the ground; then she took her son and left." (Kings 4: 32-37) 

He also healed the Syrian General Naaman:

"Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in sight of his master and highly regarded. Because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, 'If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.'” (2Kings 5:1-2)

Naaman's master allowed him to see the king of Aram, who allowed Naaman to see the king of Israel for permission, although the king of Israel " tore his robes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!”

The next passages says that:

When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: “Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet.  So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”   

But Naaman went away angry and said,

“I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage. Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. (2Kings 5:9-15)

To finish this neat story, Naaman offered payment, or at least to be a servant to the prophet, but Elisha would not take payment, saying, "go in peace."  Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, was upset that Elisha didn't take payment, and so he did so himself.  Elisha punished Gehazi:

But Elisha said to him, “Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money or to accept clothes—or olive groves and vineyards, or flocks and herds, or male and female slaves? Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants forever.” Then Gehazi went from Elisha’s presence and his skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow. (2Kings 5: 27-28)

In another Biblical story, King Asa (10th century B.C.) was king of Judah, and he was among the first kings to be faithful to the worship of God.  In fact, even his name, Asa, means physician. He opposed idolatry and all immoral behavior. 

Yet despite his faithfulness, when he was struck with disease at the end of his life, he consulted physicians instead of the Lord (2Chronicles 16: 12-14)

"In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe; yet even in his disease he did not seek The Lord, but sought help from physicians. And Asa slept with his fathers, dying in the forty-first year of his reign. They buried him in the tomb which he had hewn out for himself in the city of David. They laid him on a bier which had been filled with various kinds of spices prepared by the perfumer's art; and they made a very great fire in his honor." (2Chronicles 16: 12-14)

King Jeroboam, who died in 910 B.C., prayed to an old prophet for healing:

The prophet prayed to the Lord, and the king's arm was healed. (Kings I 13: 7) 

The prophet Elijah, who lived around 869-850 B.C., healed a widow's son:

"Give the boy to me," Elijah said.  He took the boy from her arms, carried him upstairs to the room where he was staying, and laid him on the bed.  Then he prayed aloud, "O Lord my god, why have you done such a terrible thing to this widow?  She has been kind enough to take care of me, and now you kill her son!" Then Elijah stretched himself out on the boy three times and prayed, "O Lord my god, restore this child's life!" The Lord answered Elijah's prayer; the child started breathing again and revived. (Kings I 17: 19-22)

Isaiah cured king Heekiah's illness:

Isaiah left the king, but before he had passed through the central courtyard of the palace the Lord told him to go back to Hezekiah, ruler of the Lord's people, and say to him, "I, the Lord, the god of your ancestor David, have heard your prayer and seen your tears.  I will heal you, and in three days you will go to the temple.  I will let you live fifteen years longer.  I will rescue you and this city Jerusalem from the emperor of Assyria.  I will defend this city, for the sake of my own honor and because of the promise I made to my servant David." (Kings II 20: 4-6)

There are many more references to health and healing in the Bible, from Adam all the way to Jesus.  Consider the following:

• Saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the healer.” (Peter 2:24)
• Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (James 5:14-16
• And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. (Matthew 10:1)
• And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. (Matthew 4:23)

Another famous Biblical quote about healing is this:

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5, and 1 Peter 2:24)

The passage is not necessarily about medical healing, it's more spiritual healing. 
It basically says that, by learning from the sins of others, we can be healed.  By not doing the evil things other people have done, the things that make you spiritually or physically sick, you will stay healthy, or be healed.

So the Bible, while not a medical texts per se (intrinsically), provides us with some vague information of medical wisdom as far back as 1500 to 1700 years before the birth of Christ.

Still, most diseases at this time were best left to nature (4, page 30), as the remedies provided (bleeding, purging, emetics) often made the patient feel worse, and sometimes caused death.  The Bible offered a hope and a prayer, perhaps the best remedy of all.

Reference:  See "1700 B.C.: Hebrew Bible influences medicine"

5000-50 B.C.: Hebrew health and healing

Each Hebrew village had a physician who specialized in medicine and a surgeon.  Some specialized in internal medicine, some external medicine, and others both.  (3, page 28-29) Permission to practice medicine had to be obtained by the magistrates where the physician wished to settle.  If you were sick (perhaps with asthma) you had the option of seeking out this physician to heal you.

This physician, however, also must obtain permission from the Beth-din, which was the council of the town.  Did the doctor have to pass a test? Was he interviewed? What questions were asked? Did he otherwise have to prove his competency? The answers to these questions remain a mystery, explains Robley Dunglison in his 1872 history of medicine. (4, page 31-32)

Jewish physicians were knowledgeable of the basics of anatomy, although their knowledge was quite primitive, as it was for most ancient societies.  They did not understand the concept of internal diseases, and the link between anatomy and disease.  However, as noted by Garrison, they did have a basic understanding of the most common diseases that left visible signs, such as leprosy, syphilis, phthisis, scabies, anthrax, epilepsy, and the various plagues (such as the plague of Ball Peor (numbers 25: 9) in which 24,000 perished. (7, page 59)

The best remedy was the one preached by Moses: good hygiene.  This included bathing, hand washing, sexual restraint, etc. Although, if someone did get sick, the remedies were simple.  For instance, the remedy for leprosy washing in the Jordan, or "dipping seven times in the Jordan. (2 Kings 5: 14)" (7, page 59-60)

These physicians were educated in "sanitary administration and jurisprudence," says Puschmann.  Along with good hygiene, they were also required to do other things to prevent disease, which included circumcision.  (3, page 28-29)  While modern experts think they have disproved this theory, ancient people believed uncircumcised penises were more likely to become infected.  This was how circumcision made its way into the Bible.

Physicians were also, as noted by Garrison, required to isolate people with infectious disease such as leprosy, syphilis, gonorrhea and leukorrhea, as noted in Leviticus 12-15. (7, page 60)  This was another significant measure of preventing healthy people from getting these diseases.  It must also have been observed that many diseases were spread through sexual contact, and so sexual abstinence prior to marriage was encouraged, and loyalty to one man or one woman was also encouraged.

Puschmann notes that when a person was sick he called upon his physician, who paid the sick a visit. Then the physician was paid by the sick or his family, and not by a collective tax. (3, page 28-29) Although, "Jewish medicine was almost exclusively a medicine of the state, not a private profession," writes Thomas Bradford in his 1898 book "Quiz questions on the history of medicine." (9, page 9)(5, page 31)

The neat thing about ancient people such as Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Hebrews, is you didn't have to be a physicians to be an expert in medicine, says Puschman. He explains this was because medicine was included in the list of knowledge  taught at schools.  It would be like going to college today for Journalism, and having to take classes in math, English and Business.  So many of the people mentioned in the Bible, particularly prophets such as Solomon, Elijah, Elisha and Ahijah, had medical wisdom, and this wisdom allowed them to "become famous for their successful cures."  (3, page 29)

Baas says King Solomon (who reigned 1020-980 B.C.) was a prophet who had the ability to cure, (2, page 32) and Bradford said of Solomon that "tradition attributes to him a medical work which taught how to cure diseases by natural means. Arabian authorities assert that he left a history of plants and animals, and a number of other works." (9, page 8)

There are various, and random, references to the healing powers of the prophets in the Bible.  Elisha, who lived in the 9th century B.C., healed the water that causes miscarriages:

Some men from Jericho went to Elisha and  said, "As you know, sir, this is a fine city, but the water is bad and causes miscarriages." Elisha said, "Put some salt in a bowl and bring it to me." They brought it to him, and he went to the spring, threw in the salt in the water, and said, "This is what the Lord says: 'I make this water pure, and it will not cause any more  deaths or miscarriages.'" And that water has been pure ever since, just as Elisha said it would be. (Kings 2: 19-22)

Elisha also resurrected a Shunammite's son:

When Elisha arrived, he went alone into the room and saw the boy lying dead on the bed.  He closed the door and prayed to the Lord.  Then he lay down on the boy, placing his mouth, eyes, and hands on the boy's mouth, eyes, and hands.  As he lay stretched out over the boy, the boy's body started to get warm.  Elisha got up, walked around the room, and then went back and again stretched himself over the boy.  the boy sneezed seven times and then opened his eyes.  Elisha calledGehazi and told him to call the boy's mother.  When she came in, he said to her, "Here's your son." She fell at Elisha's feet, with her face touching the ground; then she took her son and left." (Kings 4: 32-37) 

He also healed Naaman:

"Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram.  He was a great man in sight of his master and highly regarded.  because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife.  She said to her mistress, 'If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.'” (2Kings 5:1-2)

Naaman's master allowed him to see the king of Aram, who allowed Naaman to see the king of Israel for permission, although the king of Israel " tore his robes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!”

The next passages says that:

When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: “Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophetSo Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house.Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, washy ourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”   

But Naaman went away angry and said,

“I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage. Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!”So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. (2Kings 5:9-15)

To finish this neat story, Naaman offered payment, or at least to be a servant to the prophet, but Elisha would not take payment, saying, "go in peace."  Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, was upset that Elisha didn't take payment, and so he did so himself.  Elisha punished Gehazi:

But Elisha said to him, “Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the timeto take money or to accept clothes—or olive groves and vineyards, or flocks and herds, or male and female slaves? Naaman’s leprosywill cling to you and to your descendants forever.” Then Gehazi went from Elisha’s presence and his skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow.(2Kings 5: 27-28)

In another Biblical story, King Asa (10th century B.C.) was king of Judah, and he was among the first kings to be faithful to the worship of God.  In fact, even his name, Asa, means physician.  He opposed idolatry and all immoral behavior.  Yet despite his faithfulness, when he was struck with disease at the end of his life, he consulted physicians instead of the Lord (2Chronicles 16: 12-14

"In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe; yet even in his disease he did not seek The Lord, but sought help from physicians. And Asa slept with his fathers, dying in the forty-first year of his reign. They buried him in the tomb which he had hewn out for himself in the city of David. They laid him on a bier which had been filled with various kinds of spices prepared by the perfumer's art; and they made a very great fire in his honor." (2Chronicles 16: 12-14

King Jeroboam, who died in 910 B.C., prayed to an old prophet for healing:

The prophet prayed to the Lord, and the king's arm was healed. (Kings I 13: 7) 

The prophet Elijah, who lived around 869-850 B.C., healed a widow's son:

"Give the boy to me," Elijah said.  He took the boy from her arms, carried him upstairs to the room where he was staying, and laid him on the bed.  Then he prayed aloud, "O Lord my god, why have you done such a terrible thing to this widow?  She has been kind enough to take care of me, and now you kill her son!" Then Elijah stretched himself out on the boy three times and prayed, "O Lord my god, restore this child's life!" The Lord answered Elijah's prayer; the child started breathing again and revived. (Kings I 17: 19-22)

Isaiah cured king Heekiah's illness:

Isaiah left the king, but before he had passed through the central courtyard of the palace the Lord told him to go back to Hezekiah, ruler of the Lord's people, and say to him, "I, the Lord, the god of your ancestor David, have heard your prayer and seen your tears.  I will heal you, and in three days you will go to the temple.  I will let you live fifteen years longer.  I will rescue you and this city Jerusalem from the emperor of Assyria.  I will defend this city, for the sake of my own honor and because of the promise I made to my servant David." (Kings II 20: 4-6)

There are many more references to health and healing in the Bible, from Adam all the way to Jesus.  Consider the following:Saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am thehealer.” (Peter 2:24)

• Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (James 5:14-16
• And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. (Matthew 10:1)
• And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. (Matthew 4:23)
• Another famous Biblical quote about healing is this, as quoted from Isaiah 53:5, and 1Peter 2:24: 
• “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."

The passage is not necessarily about medical healing, it's more spiritual healing.  Basically, by learning from the sins of others, we can be healed.  By not doing the evil things other people have done, the things that make you spiritually or physically sick, you will stay healthy, or be healed.

So the Bible, while not a medical texts, provides us with some vague information of medical wisdom from around 1500 to 1700 years before the birth of Christ. Most diseases at this time were best left to nature (4, page 30), as the remedies provided (bleeding, purging, emetics) often made the patient feel worse, and sometimes caused death.  The Bible offered a hope and a prayer, perhaps the best remedy of all.

Reference:  See "1700 B.C.: Hebrew Bible influences medicine"