Medicine In America Essay, Research Paper

James Cassedy?s Medicine in America, A Short History takes a

comprehensive look at medical progress in America from its colonial days to the

present time. The book takes on five different themes in discussing medicine.

First, it discusses the medical establishment, and how it develops over time.

Second, it looks at the alternative to established medicine. Alternatives

consist of any kind of medical practice outside the orthodox practice of the

time. Third, Cassedy explores the science of medicine, taking time to recognize

individuals who make significant discoveries in the field of medicine. The role

of government in science is the fourth theme studied by Cassedy. The government

makes considerable efforts into the regulation of medical practice in America.

The final theme is the role of the environment in the health of Americans. In

covering these themes, Cassedy breaks American history into four different time

periods. The book will best be reviewed by looking at each of these time

periods, and how they cover the aforementioned themes. Logically, the book

begins by discussing the period of time that America is under the control of

Britain. The first inhabitants of the continent took a beating from diseases

carried by Europeans. Native Americans did not have the immunities instilled in

Europeans. Disease is accredited to wiping out nearly 90 percent of Native

Americans. The colonies, however, also had to deal with diseases. Very few

physicians lived in the colonies due to the fact that Britain was still the

mother country. With the medical establishment being as small as it was, the

women of the household often took care of the day to day healing. Midwives

handled childbirths, and basically anyone with any knowledge of medical

literature was considered capable of healing. Some of the common treatments

included steam baths, religious rights, and herbal remedies. Surgical methods

were basically limited to that of setting bones and pulling teeth. Realizing

that sanitation was a problem, larger towns eventually began to pass regulations

on the removal of garbage and dead animals. Health related science was

circulated by means of periodicals. Along with being a contributor to medicine

as a scientist, Benjamin Franklin often published medical information in his

newspapers. A strong supporter of inoculation, the Reverend Cotton Mather

frequently wrote about medical matters in terms of religion. The colonial years

saw the beginning of a medical establishment. As small groups of British

physicians began moving to the colonies, medical schools began to arise and give

a foundation to practices in America. The separation of the colonies from Great

Britain caused a break in medical advancement in America. Many physicians saw

fit to pack up and return home. Main stream medicine at the time could be

considered barbaric by today?s standards. Treatments such as excessive blood

letting, which was thought to balance the body?s four humors, often did more

harm than good. Sometimes they even led to death. The government began efforts

at this time to pass laws requiring physicians be licensed. Thirteen states

passed such laws, but eleven eventually repealed the laws. The government

reluctantly involved itself in matters such as quarantines and public

vaccinations. The spread of the population westward resulted in the lack of

available physicians. This led to the rise of many people turning to unorthodox

methods of medicine. Quacks, or people who claimed medical knowledge who really

had none, often hurt people rather than cure them. ?Irregular? practitioners

began to use new methods in surgery, hygiene beliefs, and new medical systems

that were generally frowned upon because the public was not used to it. It took

awhile for the United States to become advanced and wealthy enough to produce

any serious output in scientific discovery. In 1807, Thomas Jefferson encouraged

the medical community to look into research more. Members of the medical

community began to research more into specific fields of medicine. For example,

anatomy became much more detailed from 1776 to 1865. The Civil War produced

enormous amounts of experience in dealing with wounds afflicted in battle. While

disease spread rapidly through overcrowded urban communities, farmers faced

vulnerable months during early settlement. Medical institutions were based

mainly around the larger cities, so the rural population continued to rely on

traveling physicians and home remedies. The medical establishment in America

from 1864 to 1940 made a switch to specialized medicine. Everything from

veterinarians to pharmacists began to appear in urban areas as well as rural

areas. General practitioners were more popular in small towns due to their wide

range of services. Health practices outside the general establishment consisted

mostly of people tending to their not so serious ailments by themselves. Quack

medicine still remained prosperous well into the twentieth century. Due to the

quick spread of disease after the Civil War, the government became more involved

in helping citizens. They began to require physicians to report cases of

infectious disease, as well as fund institutions of health education. Bureaus

such as the Children?s Bureau were founded for special reasons. The

Children?s Bureau worked to improve birth and death rates. Scientific research

on disease, such as Walter Reed?s work with typhoid fever, led to better

understanding of such diseases. World War II gave America a social and

economical boost, and the hundreds of thousands of dead and wounded gave way to

the construction of wartime hospitals. Due to the practice of vaccination, many

diseases that plagued America in the last century were virtually non-existent.

Rises in technology have led to the improvement of medicine overall, and has led

to new fears in the consequences of technology. An example would be nuclear

weapons and the affects of radiation. The AIDS epidemic is an example of a

modern day disease that prompts massive government funded research and public

awareness. The medical establishment now is maintained by such organizations as

the American Medical Association (A.M.A). The emergence of effective medicine

gave way to more success and trust in the American medical institution. Current

advancement in medicine, however, tends to be tainted by the glory of discovery.

While orthodox medicine continues to flourish, people still tend to seek

unorthodox methods of healing, such as acupuncture. All things considered,

medicine in America has made dramatic improvements since its colonial days.

James Cassedy has made an excellent overview of the history of medicine in

America. Granted that this book will not win any literary awards in the near

future, it is still a well-written tool in beginning one?s research of

medicine. He presents his topics in a manner that makes them interesting, and

causes readers to question the past of their medical culture. His choice of

themes leaves little to be desired, and he thoroughly discusses each of them in

relation to his specified time intervals.