MESOPOTAMIAN SYSTEM OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY (MSMS)
MESOPOTAMIAN CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION
MESOPOTAMIAN SYSTEM OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY (MSMS)
We Know a system, which is followed all around the world, with more than 90% of the world population using it. But the world prefers to call it the Allopathic system, which in reality was invented by the great Mesopotamians more than 30 million years ago on the Continent of Mesopotamia. This is the Mesopotamian System of Medicine and Surgery. MSMS in short. But this system was not formed and developed in a day by the great Mesopotamians. It took the Mesopotamians millions of years and countless scientists and doctors and patients to develop and refine this system to its present refinement and grandeur. But if you want to understand how this system has evolved and developed before it was hijacked by the Greeks (who themselves are Human Babylonians) and Romans and later Arabs and much later the Germans and Britishers. They stole this immense treasure of a Medical System, which took the Mesopotamians millions of years to develop, and paraded it in front of the world as Greek system of Medicine and much later the Allopathic system of Medicine. All Medical and Surgical Systems in use around the world either are direct copies of this great Mesopotamian System of Medicine and Surgery or are distortions or modifications of it. Because Mesopotamians have travelled a lot around the world and with the establishment of other civilizations about 7 to 9 thousands years before from now (BFN), have imparted some of this treasure of medical knowledge to others.
Thus the credit for treating all patients around the world from the beginning to now and future should go to the Mesopotamians and the ingenious and absolutely marvelous system called the Mesopotamian System of Medicine and Surgery. This is the Mesopotamian System of Medicine and Surgery.
But I had to research about this system from fragmented knowledge and historical facts. Thus I have not only relied on discovered facts and information about Mesopotamia and Mesopotamian System Of Medicine and Surgery but also on my own observation, deductive and analytical skills.
So, the information I am presenting below may seem fragmented at times but overall will give a complete understanding of one of the best and one of the most marvelous systems ever invented by human beings. This is the Mesopotamian System of Medicine and Surgery.
Unfortunately, many of the pharmacological records were destroyed. Some because they were maintained on clay tablets but mainly because many were destroyed or stolen by the invading Greeks, Romans, Arabs and later by the British. I must add that many records were written on paper. The great Mesopotamians had invented paper many thousands of years before the Egyptians (who are also Human Babylonians). Thus, many medical records were preserved on paper in booklets and registers. These were either burnt down or stolen by the invading hordes of Greeks, Romans, Arabs and British in that order. I must add that many records were safeguarded and kept hidden by the Mesopotamians. These were later discovered by the British and other Europeans during their occupation and stolen by them.
The Mesopotamians had drugs for most common ailments prevalent during their times.
The Mesopotamians invented the procedure of Vitals or Vital monitoring to clinically ascertain the condition of the patients. This consisted of Pulse rate and rhythm, Respiration rate, Temperature, Conscious levels etc. The simplest way to ascertain temperature was to place the back of the doctor’s hand either on the neck or on upper chest region. The Mesopotamian System of Medicine and Surgery (MSMS), short of the newly prepared synthetic drugs was as efficient and more effective than the prevailing medical system around the world. The Mesopotamians had detailed knowledge of Anatomy, physiology, Pathology, Forensic Medicine, Pharmacology, Surgery, Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ophthalmology, ENT and Preventive Medicine. These are the subjects which are still taught in the MBBS curriculum. This is Mesopotamian System of Medicine and Surgery.MSMS. MESOPOTAMIAN SYSTEM OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY introduced not only clinical examination and clinical history taking but also introduced laboratory investigations to make a diagnosis. This was mainly done by examination of blood, serum, urine and stool slide examination under the light microscope.
The Mesopotamian or Babylonian System of Medicine and Surgery is based on Medical Schools in which desired students are admitted and taught the subjects of Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, Pharmacology, Forensic Science, Medicine, Surgery. These were the pillar subjects on which the Babylonian Medical Schools were based in the past and the Mesopotamian (Babylonian) System of Therapy based. These Medical Schools were directly controlled by the State, both financed and run by it. But many would agree that the most unique feature of Mesopotamian System of Medicine and Surgery is the form and means by which a drug or medicine is administered to the patient. The Babylonians extracted the active ingredient from natural plants and herbs by physical, chemical means and bound it in the form of Pills, Tablets, Capsules, Injections and Inhalations. Thus all forms of drugs to be administered to a patient were invented by the Babylonians and is used to this day in all parts of the world as the safest, easiest, quickest and most measurable way of administering drugs. One method by which the Babylonians extracted the active ingredient was to boil the part of the plant that contained active ingredient in water. If the active ingredient was soluble in water it dissolved in water on boiling. Such water with dissolved active ingredient was separated and was subjected to differential distillation. This meant that the active ingredient water was boiled at different temperatures and depending on the volatility of the active ingredient, different active ingredients were separated at different temperatures. The separated active agents were dried and weighed and used to make Pills, Tablets, Capsules and Injections. In some cases the active ingredients or one or more of the active ingredients were not soluble in water. So once these active ingredients that were soluble in water were separated by boiling and differential distillation, the rest of the plant part was boiled in alcohol. Some of the active ingredients were soluble in alcohol and separated with alcohol on boiling. Later different active ingredients were separated by differential distillation. Different active ingredients separated at different temperatures. The active ingredient was dried and used to make Pills, Tablets, Capsules, Injections and Inhalants. But some some active ingredients could not even be isolated by the above methods. The Babylonians discovered Petroleum and Petroleum products like Hexane, Benzene, Ether, Ethyl acetate and used them to extract semi volatile compounds from water. Hexane is suitable for extraction of non-polar compounds such as aliphatic hydrocarbons. Benzene is suitable for extracting aromatic compounds. Ether and Ethyl acetate are suitable for extracting relatively polar compounds containing oxygen. The Babylonians also changed the PH of water to extract some active ingredients. By adding acid in water with active ingredients, the Babylonians could reduce the PH of water to less than 2. In such a low PH water with active ingredients, basic compounds became fully ionised and could not be extracted by the solvent. This allowed for selector extraction of acidic and neutral compounds. The Babylonians also added base in the water with active ingredients and increased the PH above 9. In such a scenario, the acidic compounds became fully ionised and could not be extracted by the solvent. This allowed for the selective extraction of basic and neutral compounds. For extraction purposes, the Babylonians invented the technique of Chromatography. The Babylonians prepared cartridges packed with Charcoal or Silica gel along with some other ingredients and used them for Solid Phase Extraction Chromatography to extract active ingredients from ‘active ingredients in water’ or ‘active ingredients in alcohol’ as the case may be. The active ingredient was put on trial on animals and if found successful, was tested on human volunteers. The Babylonians had a system in which the trial drug was next used by the inventor of that drug and if found safe was used on other human volunteers, which were mainly slaves who were paid for their participation in the clinical trials. Though some of the antibiotics were extracted by the Babylonians by the above processes but many active ingredients are not in sufficient quantities in many cases or are not potent enough. For extracting antibiotics and making them more potent, those plants that contained antibiotics as active agents were first powdered and made into a paste. This paste was subjected to various enzymes by the use of curd and other fungi and bacteria. The fungi and bacteria acted enzymatically on the active agents in the paste to concentrate and enhance its quantity in the paste by the above methods. In some cases the action of fungi and bacteria was used to convert the active agent into a even more potent antibiotic. Once antibiotics were concentrated, enhanced and made more potent, the antibiotic was extracted by the already described methods. Extracted antibiotic was made into Pills, Tablets, Capsules, Injections. The efficacy, potency, side effects and duration of action and treatment time and in some cases mechanism of action was found out by he clinical process described above. This means of using fungi and bacteria to extract antibiotics from plant material also meant that in some cases the active ingredient acted on the fungi and bacteria to stimulate them to excrete chemicals which in some cases acted as antibiotics. Because the Babylonians made and extracted their dry in mostly powder form so many of these could be used as injectables. This needed ‘water for injection’ which was distilled water. The Distillation process was invented by the Babylonians. But some of the drug powders were not soluble in distilled water. For the Babylonians used Alcohol to dissolve the drug powder. This acted as a preservative too. Thus the Babylonians used both water and alcohol to make parenteral drugs, both for intramuscular and intravenous use. The parenteral use of drugs, both intravenous and intramuscular as well as intradermal/subcutaneous is one of the most unique concept and highlight of the Mesopotamian System of Therapy. For parenteral administration of drugs, the Babylonians invented the Syringe made of glass and metallic syringe. Later with the invention of plastic, the Babylonians began to make plastic syringes. The Babylonians also invented the intravenous cannula, which was used when prolonged drug administration was was required like in intravenous drip of 5% Dextrose, 10% Dextrose and some other drugs. But some of the drugs were very potent and very small quantity was required. In such cases it was difficult to make meaningful pills or tablets or capsules out of them. To overcome this, some inert plant material was added to increase the size of pills and tablets to optimum size for intake. Apart from the above methods of drug administration, the Babylonians invented the procedure of gastric lavage in which a rubber tube was passed through the nose into the stomach to administer large quantities of saline, which was than pulled back by large syringes to wash the stomach. This was mainly used in cases of poisoning. But this method was used to administer drugs also. In poisoning cases, charcoal was administered to neutralise the poison. Similarly some drugs which required high acidity of the stomach were administered by this method of using gastric lavage tube. The Babylonians for the convenience of their children invented the Syrup form of drug in which a ‘sugar dissolved in water’ base in which the drug was so uniformly mixed that a specific volume of the Syrup was equivalent to the a specific amount of drug. For superficial or skin injuries (including burns) and infections, it required the Babylonians to invent the transdermal form of drug administration in which the drug is mixed in a base vehicle like water, oil, fat etc. and administered as a layer on the skin. Several types of these transdermal vehicles were invented including gel which was more solid in consistency and for this silica was used dissolved in water or alcohol, cream and lotion where the Babylonians mixed fat or oil in a drug dissolved in water or alcohol. Lotion has more liquid consistency than cream and has the lesser amount of fat or oil so that it had a more liquid consistency. Mesopotamians understood the concept of vaccination and vaccines, herd immunity and quarantine. They used them to prevent common disease both from occurring and spreading. The Mesopotamians understood the pathophysiology of various diseases like cardiac diseases, liver diseases, Sinusitis, infections and used both preventive and curative treatments. The Mesopotamians understood the concept of blood circulation and blood pressure and disease like Hypertension and invented the cuff Sphygmomanometer to measure blood pressure. The Mesopotamians understood the concept of teeth hygiene and common dental diseases like Dental Caries etc. The Mesopotamians knew the disease entity Anemia and that it is caused by Iron deficiency and vitamins. They prescribed Iron tablets for it. The Mesopotamians understood the concept of vaginal hygiene and invented sanitary pads for menstrual periods.