500445 - HISTORY OF MEDICINE

“.within these various writings [the Hippocratic corpus] medicine was being defined both for what it does and, even more importantly, for what it does not do. It covers all aspects of the health of the individual, mind as well as body; it goes beyond mere chance; it believes in logical causation that is independent of any divine intervention.; it avoids chants, charms and exorcisms; and it claims a basis in empirical fact and sound practice that rejects flimsy philosophical hypotheses. That some of the authors in the corpus themselves indulged in speculation.does not detract from the overall message gained from a reading of the corpus or simply from its existence as a body of writing.the Hippocratic corpus came to be seen as a standard against which other types of healing might be measured and then approved or rejected.” (Nutton V. Ancient Medicine. 2nd ed. Routledge; 2013:70.) “The reform of the university theoretical and professional training of Italian medical doctors began with the work of the German physician Johann Peter Frank (1745-1821).Professor at the University of Pavia from 1786 to 1795, Frank provided a significant contribution to the updating of the teaching plan of medical faculty by expressly including, in the section “of the sciences to be taught by the medical faculty”, the teaching of the History of Medicine, believing it to be a knowledge capable of bringing a real advantage to human society.” (Siri A, Gazzaniga V, Licata M, Ciliberti R. The teaching of the History of Medicine in Italy: a path in progress. Acta Biomed. 2021 Jul 1;92(3):e2021245. doi: 10.23750/abm.v92i3.9388) The purpose of this module, as a component of the “SCIENTIFIC METHODS IN MEDICINE” Integrated Course, is (a) to introduce you to the historical development of scientific method and to the emergence of medicine as a discipline through the discussion of predominantly Greek and Roman texts and thinkers and (b) to introduce you to the development of the scientific medicine curriculum within the unique context of Pavia with the completion of the “Curriculum of Studies for the Medical Faculty of the University of Pavia” in 1786 and, with Johann Peter Frank (Professor at the University of Pavia from 1786 to 1795), to the emergence of the history of medicine as a formal discipline in medical education - “a knowledge capable of bringing a real advantage to human society” in that it facilitates the critical analysis of the evolution of medicine as both a science and a social institution and as a simple catalogue of discoveries - and the establishment, in 1811, of the first University Chairs in the History of Medicine at Italian Universities. The final purpose of this module is (c) to engage you with the unique collections and resources of the museum collections of Pavia, established as a part of the educational reforms introduced at Pavia by Empress Maria Theresa of Austria and then by son, Joseph II in the 18th century. Themes addressed include: -Medicine in ancient Greece -Medicine in Alexandria and Rome -Medicine from late antiquity to the birth of the scientific revolution -The history of Medicine and Medical History at Pavia