18th century medicine

By the beginning of 18th century the control of church authority over
medicine had completely faded away. The entire Europe was full of theories and
hypothesis regarding the nature and development of diseases. Physicians were
divided into various groups of thoughts. Each and every group came out with
their theories to explain the nature and cause of disease. Cruel treatments like
blood lettings, venesections, gum arabic solutions, mustard plasters, shot gun
prescriptions (careless, one-sided single symptom prescriptions), set on, issues
(creating an ulcer surgically and keeping the blood and pus to go out, as it was
believed that the bad blood in the body is the cause for the diseases), leeches
applications and various other cruel methods were freely used by the then
physicians.

On the other hand the subjects like anatomy, physiology developed very
nicely under the experiments of physicians like Vesalius, Varolli Rolando,
Gidividus, Batallis Eustachius, Fallopius, Corti, Malphigious, Scarpa, Steno,
Riffini, Fontana, Morgagni, Valsalva, Giacomini, Pacini, Pacchionious and
Golgi etc. But the medical men remained under confusion as no universally
applicable theory was present to cure the diseases. Morgagni’s (1682-1771
A.D.) experiments in anatomy and physiology have proved that the diseases are
only due to pathological changes in the tissues and organs. But he had forgotten
to answer that why this pathological change took place in the previously healthy
tissues?

In the later years, Hahnemann made a criticizing note on different schools
of medical thought of 18th century. “It will be well to take a glance at the
various schools of philosophy in order to be able to understand his point of view
and identify the fundamental ideas and concepts out of which Hahnemann
developed his system”-says Stuart Close. “On the present want of foreign
medicine” (1808 A.D), “On the values of speculative system of medicine” etc
are some of the essays written by Hahnemann. The most important schools of
thought explained by Hahnemann in these essays are Mechanists, Materialists,
Vitalists and Naturalists.

1. Mechanists believed that all the metabolic processes in the human
   bodies are happening under the laws of mechanics.
2. Materialists believed that the matter (body) is the only reality and life
   force is a myth. They believed only in tangibility. If a substance is not
   tangible, it is not real.
3. Vitalists had a view that the life force is the only reality. Everything else
   is its manifestation.
4. Naturalists insisted that nature is the only reality. So follow the nature
   blindly.
   

By the end of 18th century there existed 3 major groups of physicians:

1. Dogmatists (dogma = blind belief): They called themselves
   ‘Rationalists’. They believed that we cannot cure the diseases unless
   we know its cause. But they could not find the real cause of disease
   and believed that the pathological change is the cause of the diseases.
   Even today we see such group blindly following the teachings of their
   seniors without any investigation into the facts.
2. Empherists: They believed in experience based on experimentations.
   But their experimentations were blind. They insist more on
   mathematical quantitative calculations than the qualitative
   observations by the intellect.
3. Methodists: They were also known as routinists. They strongly
   believed that the same methods, as used in the science like zoology,
   and botany to group animals and plants, can be employed to group the
   diseases of man. They have forgotten that mere grouping of diseases
   cannot cure them. This group tried to create a text book for diseases.
   Famous nosologists like Vogel (1772 A.D.), David M.C. Bride (1722
   A.D.), Wilium Cullen (1785 A.D.), and P.Pinel (1798 A.D.), Thomas
   Young (1813 A.D.) etc are the supporters of this group.
   

In such a confused state of later years of 18th century, came a man with a
passion for truth and spirit of scientific enquiry. This man was Christian
Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann. He was neither a pure vitalist nor a pure
materialist. He blended these both as an “Integralist” and successfully adopted
holistic system in medical practice. Hahnemann believed in studying the man as
a combination of both life force and body.