Development of the System

Abstract

Abstract Prior to the mid nineteenth century the practice of medicine was essentially non scientific, which is to say that the causes of most medical problems were unknown. It wasn’t until the last half of the nineteenth century that germs, viruses, and the host of genetic and functional causes of illness were discovered. Even the mechanisms associated with obvious traumas were known only in a very gross way: “broken bones heal correctly only if reset properly and immobilized.” The medical profession was, by and large, restricted to minor symptomatic treatment where that was possible, and palliative “supportive therapy” that consisted primarily of comforting and giving hope. Seriously ill people went to the hospital, such as it was, to die. The beds were arranged so the patients could see the altar and join in the celebration of daily mass. Instead of nurses, the hospital staff was comprised of nuns. The staff administered medicine made from herbs gathered from the wild or cultivated in the convent gardens to relieve the suffering of the patients in their final days.