Magical Moments in Medicine: Part 4 : Indian, Chinese & Islamic Medicine

Abstract

Most chronicles which document the history of medicine generally eulogise Greek philosophers and healers for the invention of scientific and rational medicine. While it is a fact that Greece has contributed handsomely towards the evolution of medicine as a scientific discipline, it is also true that European scholars, accustomed to trace roots of Western culture back to Greco-Roman times, commonly disregarded the development of medicine,science and philosophy in the East, especially in Arabia,China and India. Magner,in his book has noted that this is particularly distressing, since the medical traditions of these countries are very much alive, unlike the extinct traditions of Egypt and Mesopotamia.
In this episode,we shall attempt to explore three great eastern healing traditions, which among them held a vast amount of medical erudition, contributing significantly towards medical concepts of the present day.