While crude, this concept of humours provided some sort of rationale for understanding health and disease. Health depended on a proper balance of these humours. The Corpus looked at disease as an imbalance in natural forces or an imbalance in humours (or fluids): melancholy, phlegm, bile, and blood. By considering the possibility that disease was associated with environmental factors or imbalances in diet or personal behaviors, the Corpus also opened up the possibility of intervening to prevent disease or treat it. Although it was unsophisticated by today's standards, it was an important step forward. The Hippocratic Corpus was an early attempt to think about diseases, not as punishment from the gods, but as an imbalance of man with the environment. The engraving above on the right above shows a woman emptying her bedpan into the street of a medieval village.įor many centuries explanations for disease were based not on science, but on religion, superstition, and myth. Garbage and waste accumulated, and rodents and insect vectors were attracted to human settlements, providing sources of disease. People began living in larger groups and staying in the same place, so there was more opportunity for transmission of diseases. People also began to rely heavily on one or two crops, so their diets were often lacking in protein, minerals, and vitamins. However, domesticated animals provided not only food and labor they also carried diseases that could be transmitted to humans. The shift from the hunter-gather mode of living to an agricultural model provided a more secure supply of food and enabled expansion of the population. She opened the box, and all of the ills of the world flew out and spread throughout the human world. Pandora wanted desperately to know what was in the box. Mercury was very tired from carrying his burden and gave it to Epimetheus for safe keeping. The story is long and complicated, but Zeus crammed all the diseases, sorrows, vices, and crimes that afflict humanity into a box and gave it to Epimetheus, the husband of Pandora. The Greeks believed that the god Jupiter was angry about man accepting the gift of fire. Primitive peoples believed in natural spirits that were sometimes mischievous or vengeful. Mythology, Superstition, and ReligionĮarly explanations for the occurrence of disease focused on superstition, myths, and religion.
Since they lived in small groups and moved frequently, they had few problems with accumulating waste or contaminated water or food. Their mixed diet was probably fairly balanced and nutritionally complete. They lived and traveled in small groups and hunted and foraged for food. They had a short life span, but not because of epidemics their primary problem was just finding enough food to eat. Ten thousand years ago humans were hunter-gatherers. Note: words in bold can be scrolled over to provide a definition.
Describe the importance of studying the factors associated with outcomes in a systematic way in human populations.Explain the evolution of concepts about the cause and prevention of disease.Please forward comments and suggestions to to ContentsĪfter completing this module, the student will be able to: Note: We are continually trying to improve the accessibility and usability of our learning modules.