Health Care and Epidemics in Antiquity. Health, Medicine Essay (Essay Sample)

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Health Care and Epidemics in Antiquity
Early civilizations utilized mystical belief and rational thought in their medicinal practices. They observed that curing a sick person was not only an affair of human anatomy but also a psychological one (Tomczak). The societies discovered that a person's rate of recovery was rooted in one's cooperation and willingness to recover. According to Tomczak, early civilizations noted that human beings have feelings, and as a result, they postulated the existence of the soul. The same source states that the center of emotions was believed to be the brain, bones, liver, or heart, depending on the society. Religion influenced how ancient medicine was performed. Notably, all religions prohibited the dissecting of the human body (Tomczak). This was a severe barrier to the development of medicine as a science. Consequently, ancient medicine was more of a ritual based on religious practices. This also made the connection between religion and medicine stronger compared to other branches of science.