The Past
Mesopotamian medicine
CAPTION: A physician testifies and defends himself in a trial concerning a malpractice complaint by his patient
The Mesopotamian civilization, which was in the Middle East at about 5000 to 1600 years ago, wrote down their medical knowledge on tablets. Like prehistoric medicine, they still believed that spirits or sins caused diseases. So, they also had witch doctors. These doctors were called ashipus. They helped to determine diseases, and after diseases were determined they sent the patients to asu, who were responsible for the remedy. They used plants, resins, and spices as medicine. They also made plaster to prevent bacterial infection. In addition, they found the use of pH to determine pregnancy.