The Concept of Disease: From Antiquity to the Present

1. The Concept of Disease Throughout History:

a. Primitive Times:

• Disease was viewed as punishment from the gods.
• Herbal remedies began to be used for healing.

b. Ancient Civilizations:

Ancient China:

• Disease was seen as an imbalance of yin and yang, a disruption in the five elements’ relationship of mutual generation and mutual restraint within the body (a materialist view).
• Treatments focused on balancing yin and yang and the five elements.

Ancient Greece and Rome:

• Materialist and dialectical.
• Pythagorean School: The universe was made up of four elements with four qualities: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Treatment involved supplementing missing elements and removing excess ones.
• Hippocratean School: The body had four humors that needed to be balanced:
  • Red blood: produced by the heart.
  • Phlegm: colorless, produced by the brain, cold in nature.
  • Black bile: produced by the spleen, moist in nature.
  • Yellow bile: produced by the liver, dry in nature.

• Ancient Egypt: Diseases were caused by inhaling bad air.
• Ancient India: Illness was seen as a part of the cycle of birth, aging, disease, and death.

c. Medieval and Renaissance Periods:

• Medieval Period: Religious fanaticism prevailed, and illness was viewed as divine punishment.
• Renaissance Period:
  • The advancement of science and medicine.
  • Mechanical Theory: Disease was viewed as a malfunction in the body’s machinery.
  • Chemical Theory: Diseases were attributed to changes in the body’s chemical composition.
  • Vital Force Theory: Disease was caused by an imbalance of vital forces within the body.

d. 18th-19th Centuries:

• Cellular Pathology Theory: Disease stemmed from cellular damage.
• Homeostasis Disturbance Theory: Disease resulted from a disturbance in the body’s internal balance.

2. Classification of Diseases:

• By Affected Organ: Cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, digestive diseases, etc.
• By Cause: Infectious diseases, genetic diseases, environmental diseases, etc.
• By Age and Gender: Pediatric diseases, gynecological diseases, urological diseases, etc.
• By Ecology and Geography: Tropical diseases, temperate zone diseases, etc.
• By Pathogenesis: Allergic diseases, autoimmune diseases.

3. Stages of a Disease:

a. Incubation Period:

• Latent, no clinical manifestation.
• The body mobilizes its defenses to protect and adapt.

b. Prodromal Stage:

• Initial symptoms appear.
• Accurate diagnosis is difficult.

c. Acute Stage:

• The characteristic symptoms of the disease fully manifest.

d. Terminal Stage:

• Complete recovery: The body fully recovers with no sequelae.
• Incomplete recovery: Sequelae remain, and the pathology persists.
• Transition to chronicity: The progression slows, the cause of the disease is difficult to treat, and the body’s resistance is weakened.
• Transition to another disease: The disease transforms into a different illness.

4. Conclusion of a Disease:

a. Death:

• Pre-Agonal Stage: Hours to days, dyspnea, hypotension, rapid weak heartbeat, diminished consciousness.
• Agonal Stage: Gradual decline in bodily functions, dysfunction, 2-4 minutes.
• Clinical Death Stage: External signs of life cease, the brain remains active, cells are still alive.
• Biological Death Stage: The brain dies completely, irreversible, anaerobic cells are still alive.

Note:

• The brain can survive without oxygen for 6 minutes.
• The information in this article is for reference only and should not substitute professional medical advice.
• Always consult a healthcare professional for accurate diagnosis and treatment of illness.

5. Additional Points:

• This article could be expanded to include information on disease treatment methods throughout history, as well as the advances of modern medicine in diagnosis and treatment.
• Specific examples of different diseases and how they function could be added to make the article more understandable and engaging.

Hopefully, this more complete and detailed article has helped you better understand the concept of disease.