History of Medicine WMCM-LE-HM
Course Objective:
This course aims to provide students with a comprehensive introduction to the history of medicine, focusing primarily on preserved materials and primary texts. It traces the development of medical knowledge and practices from prehistoric times to the present, highlighting significant periods, key figures, and pivotal discoveries.
Course Topics:
Prehistoric Medicine and Early Civilizations
Did the medicine of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt serve as a foundation for the development of medical practices in Europe?
Can Mesopotamian medicine be considered purely based on the magical-religious worldview of its inhabitants?
Temple-based medical education and healing in ancient Egypt.
Key Egyptian medical texts: the Edwin Smith Papyrus, the Ebers Papyrus, and other sources.
Can the works of the Greek historian Herodotus provide insight into medicine in ancient Egypt and Babylon?
Medicine in Greece and the Roman Empire
Was Asclepius a god or merely a healer? Asclepieia (healing temples).
Medical schools on the islands of Kos and Knidos.
Origins of the humoral theory.
Hippocrates and the Corpus Hippocraticum.
The Hippocratic Oath: facts and myths.
Hellenistic medicine and the first theories of ophthalmology and pulse measurement: Praxagoras, Herophilos, Erasistratus.
Were Celsus, Galen, Aetius, Oribasius, and Paul of Aegina geniuses of medical art or brilliant compilers and preservers? Were all of them practicing physicians?
Medieval Medicine (8th–14th Century)
Medicine in Islamic civilization.
Translation activities of Syrian, Persian, and Arab physicians, translating works by Hippocrates, Galen, and other ancient authors.
Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi as a major authority in European medicine up to the 17th century.
Abu-Ali al-Husayn ibn Abdullah ibn-Sina (Avicenna) and his seminal work, Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb (The Canon of Medicine).
European medicine and the first medical school in Salerno (Schola Medica Salernitana).
Constantine the African.
University of Padua.
Hospitals and physicians in the medieval period.
The Renaissance to the Early Modern Period (15th–18th Century)
Florentine collectors and copyists of medical manuscripts.
Revival of medicine at the University of Padua.
Andreas Vesalius and his challenge to Galenic anatomy.
First properly described anatomy: De humani corporis fabrica.
Contributions of Gabriel Fallopius and Hieronymus Fabricius ab Aquapendente (De venarum ostiolis, 1603).
Origins of targeted therapy: Paracelsus (Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim) and iatrochemistry.
Medical chronicles of Jacques Houllier, François Valleriola [né Variola], and Ambroise Paré (father of modern surgery).
William Harvey and his revolutionary work on the heart and circulation: Exercitatio anatomica de motu cordis et sanguinis in animalibus.
English Hippocrates, Thomas Sydenham.
Giovanni Battista Morgagni from Padua and his work De Sedibus et Causis Morborum as the beginning of pathology.
17th century, the golden age of Bolognese medicine.
Samuel Hahnemann of Leipzig, founder of homeopathy.
G.W. Leibniz and his proposals for medical education and healthcare organization.
The evolution of surgery toward modern practices.
Spanish exploration of medicinal herbs.
Pharmacy legislation.
Mesmerism.
19th Century: Advances in Modern Medicine
Formation of modern medicine (from the French Revolution to World War I).
Germ theory and the development of bacteriology.
The bacteriological breakthrough: Louis Pasteur as a pioneer of microbiology.
Odo Bujwid and his work on the rabies vaccine, promoting global medical microbiology knowledge in Poland.
Robert Koch and the identification of the tuberculosis bacterium.
Women in medicine: physicians and nurses.
Anesthesia and the systematic development of antiseptic and aseptic surgical theaters.
Treatment of endemic infectious diseases.
First clinical applications of X-rays.
20th Century: Up to World War II
War and medicine in the 20th century.
The Spanish flu, the largest pandemic of the century.
American Red Cross projects aimed at reforming European public health and social care based on U.S. practices.
World War II and Nazi (pseudo)medical experiments.
Nuremberg Code.
20th–21st Century: Post-World War II
Founding of the World Health Organization (WHO) under the UN.
Combating infectious diseases.
Development of new vaccines.
Containment of bacteria? Threats from new epidemics.
Definition and study of hemorrhagic fevers and HIV.
Lifestyle and civilization-related diseases.
Advances in genetics.
Modern surgery: neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, organ transplantation, and laparoscopic surgery.
Evidence-based medicine.
The “Healthy Cities” project.
Summary
Archaeology and history in the service of modern medicine.
Medicine and related sciences for a deeper understanding of the history of medicine.
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
The scheduling of individual lecture topics may be slightly delayed relative to the proposed timeline.
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Term 2025/26_Z:
Course Objective: Course Topics: Prehistoric Medicine and Early Civilizations Did the medicine of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt serve as a foundation for the development of medical practices in Europe? Can Mesopotamian medicine be considered purely based on the magical-religious worldview of its inhabitants? Temple-based medical education and healing in ancient Egypt. Key Egyptian medical texts: the Edwin Smith Papyrus, the Ebers Papyrus, and other sources. Can the works of the Greek historian Herodotus provide insight into medicine in ancient Egypt and Babylon? Medicine in Greece and the Roman Empire Was Asclepius a god or merely a healer? Asclepieia (healing temples). Medical schools on the islands of Kos and Knidos. Origins of the humoral theory. Hippocrates and the Corpus Hippocraticum. The Hippocratic Oath: facts and myths. Hellenistic medicine and the first theories of ophthalmology and pulse measurement: Praxagoras, Herophilos, Erasistratus. Were Celsus, Galen, Aetius, Oribasius, and Paul of Aegina geniuses of medical art or brilliant compilers and preservers? Were all of them practicing physicians? Medieval Medicine (8th–14th Century) Medicine in Islamic civilization. Translation activities of Syrian, Persian, and Arab physicians, translating works by Hippocrates, Galen, and other ancient authors. Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi as a major authority in European medicine up to the 17th century. Abu-Ali al-Husayn ibn Abdullah ibn-Sina (Avicenna) and his seminal work, Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb (The Canon of Medicine). European medicine and the first medical school in Salerno (Schola Medica Salernitana). Constantine the African. University of Padua. Hospitals and physicians in the medieval period. The Renaissance to the Early Modern Period (15th–18th Century) Florentine collectors and copyists of medical manuscripts. Revival of medicine at the University of Padua. Andreas Vesalius and his challenge to Galenic anatomy. First properly described anatomy: De humani corporis fabrica. Contributions of Gabriel Fallopius and Hieronymus Fabricius ab Aquapendente (De venarum ostiolis, 1603). Origins of targeted therapy: Paracelsus (Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim) and iatrochemistry. Medical chronicles of Jacques Houllier, François Valleriola [né Variola], and Ambroise Paré (father of modern surgery). William Harvey and his revolutionary work on the heart and circulation: Exercitatio anatomica de motu cordis et sanguinis in animalibus. English Hippocrates, Thomas Sydenham. Giovanni Battista Morgagni from Padua and his work De Sedibus et Causis Morborum as the beginning of pathology. 17th century, the golden age of Bolognese medicine. Samuel Hahnemann of Leipzig, founder of homeopathy. G.W. Leibniz and his proposals for medical education and healthcare organization. The evolution of surgery toward modern practices. Spanish exploration of medicinal herbs. Pharmacy legislation. Mesmerism. 19th Century: Advances in Modern Medicine Formation of modern medicine (from the French Revolution to World War I). Germ theory and the development of bacteriology. The bacteriological breakthrough: Louis Pasteur as a pioneer of microbiology. Odo Bujwid and his work on the rabies vaccine, promoting global medical microbiology knowledge in Poland. Robert Koch and the identification of the tuberculosis bacterium. Women in medicine: physicians and nurses. Anesthesia and the systematic development of antiseptic and aseptic surgical theaters. Treatment of endemic infectious diseases. First clinical applications of X-rays. 20th Century: Up to World War II War and medicine in the 20th century. The Spanish flu, the largest pandemic of the century. American Red Cross projects aimed at reforming European public health and social care based on U.S. practices. World War II and Nazi (pseudo)medical experiments. Nuremberg Code. 20th–21st Century: Post-World War II Founding of the World Health Organization (WHO) under the UN. Combating infectious diseases. Development of new vaccines. Containment of bacteria? Threats from new epidemics. Definition and study of hemorrhagic fevers and HIV. Lifestyle and civilization-related diseases. Advances in genetics. Modern surgery: neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, organ transplantation, and laparoscopic surgery. Evidence-based medicine. The “Healthy Cities” project. Summary Archaeology and history in the service of modern medicine. Medicine and related sciences for a deeper understanding of the history of medicine. IMPORTANT NOTICE: |
(in Polish) E-Learning
(in Polish) Grupa przedmiotów ogólnouczenianych
(in Polish) Opis nakładu pracy studenta w ECTS
Subject level
Learning outcome code/codes
Type of subject
Preliminary Requirements
Course coordinators
Term 2026/27_Z: | Term 2023/24_Z: | Term 2019/20_Z: | Term 2021/22_Z: | Term 2020/21_Z: | Term 2022/23_Z: | Term 2024/25_Z: | Term 2025/26_Z: |
Learning outcomes
Learning Outcomes (Knowledge):
W1: The student knows the basic stages of medical development from antiquity to modern times.
W2: The student understands the relationships between medical practice and the social and cultural context of different historical periods.
W3: The student knows selected therapeutic and diagnostic concepts from a historical perspective.
Detailed Knowledge:
The student has knowledge of medicine among prehistoric peoples and the earliest civilizations, including Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
The student is familiar with the characteristic features of Byzantine medicine, medieval Arab medicine (including in Al-Andalus), and Latin medicine of the medieval period.
The student has knowledge of the Renaissance revival of ancient medicine in the early modern period and the most important discoveries of that era.
The student understands the significance of the bacteriological breakthrough in the 19th century and medical discoveries up to the early 21st century that were Nobel Prize-worthy.
The student possesses a structured understanding of epidemics and pandemics from antiquity to the early 21st century.
ECTS Justification:
Participation in classes: 15 hours
Independent reading of assigned literature: 14 hours
Consultations: 1 hour
Total: 30 hours → 1 ECTS credit
Assessment criteria
Course Requirements and Assessment:
Attendance: Participation in lectures is mandatory.
Examination: A written exam covering the material presented during lectures.
(Exam theses will be posted on the MS Teams platform by January 31.)
Grading Scale:
51% – 60%: Satisfactory (3.0)
61% – 70%: Satisfactory Plus (3.5)
71% – 80%: Good (4.0)
81% – 90%: Good Plus (4.5)
91% – 100%: Very Good (5.0)
Bibliography
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Term 2025/26_Z:
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Additional information
Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: