My Web Project covered the development of medicine through history. This field interests me because it meshes well with my interest in medicine. I know very little about medical practices before 1900, and I see this project as a great way to develop a greater appreciation for modern medicine. I know of Hippocrates’ oath, which most physicians still take. I have learned some about early Egyptian medicine from our previous readings. However, I realize that my knowledge of this subject is very limited.

Through this project, I answered questions about the foundations of medicine. I believe that I learned about when certain practices were established and what principles were formalized. This project provided the historical background for different medical advances in a way I had not previously considered. I believe this topic was interesting for other people because of its application to modern medicine. From what I understand of the medical profession, there is still a great deal of symbolism – for example, the icon of the serpent on a rod symbolizes the story of the Hebrew Moses and how people were healed by looking upon the serpent-coiled rod. I believe that this project greatly enhanced people’s appreciation of how the traditions of physicians came to be, and what modern medicine has and does not have compared to the practices of the ancients.

Each episode looked at either a person or an event during the corresponding time period. Each investigation attempted to approach the subject from the perspective of someone living in that time period or shortly thereafter. Here is a brief summary of each episode.

Episode 1: For the ancient period, I researched Greek medicine and the development of Hippocrates’ standard for medicine. I focused on the legendary oath ascribed to Hippocrates, and I looked at the public reaction and impact of this oath upon medicine and society.

Episode 2: For the medieval/Islamic period, I looked at the impact of the Black Plague on Europe and its effect on medical practices. I studied the process doctors went through to determine that the Plague was microbial in nature, and I wrote an interpretation of signs that the public might want to know about the disease.

Episode 3: For the early modern period, I focused on the person and work of Andreas Vesalius. I researched his biography and a translation of his great work, On the Fabric of the Human Body. While there was more information about his life than was able to fit in one episode, I worked on presenting some of his major accomplishments and thoughts.

All of these web episodes were written in the style of newspaper/magazine articles, which focused on the information surrounding each topic. The style, along with the themes of perception of anatomy and disease, helped bridge the differences in subject matter in the episodes. My format also remained consistent, which kept the episodes stylistically similar.

I chose to format the web episodes in a blog format, with links on the side and the content in the middle. Given the current popularity in web-logging, I felt that this style worked well to capture people’s attention as well as present the material in an easy-to-read format. I also added the ability to post comments directly to each episode, which allows for a more interactive feel. By making my web project in this fashion I sought to make my design consistent and engaging.

Primary Sources

• Hippocrates, “On Ancient Medicine”, http://classics.mit.edu/Hippocrates/ancimed.html. This webpage is the table of contents page for a translation of Hippocrates’ work. I believe this source would be useful because it provides insight into the thoughts of Hippocrates, a major influence on modern medicine.
• Andreas Vesalius, Daniel Garrison, and Malcolm Hast, “De Humani Corporis Fabrica”, http://vesalius.northwestern.edu/index.html. This webpage provides a translation and annotation of Andreas Vesalius’ work. I believe this source would be useful because of its demonstration of knowledge about the human anatomy in the 16th century.
• Giovanni Boccaccio and J. M. Riggs, “Decameron”, http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/decameron/engDecIndex.php. This webpage contains the text of a medieval book about the plagues of the 14th century. I believe this source is useful because the work contains information about the social and cultural background for the time period.

Secondary Sources

• Sir William Osler, “The Evolution Of Modern Medicine”, http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/OslEvol.html. This website contains the full text of Sir William Osler’s work. I believe that this work would serve as a great resource for looking at all of the different time periods, as well as provide some information about specific civilizations. I believe this is a reliable source because it is found on an institutional website, and because the content of the site is Sir William Osler’s work.
• E. L. Skip Knox, “The Black Death”, http://history.boisestate.edu/westciv/plague/. This webpage provides some information about the plagues of the Middle Ages. I believe this page would be useful because of its analysis of the effects of the plague on politics, culture, etc. I believe this source is useful because it is located on an educational institution’s website, and because the author of the information is an adjunct faculty member at Boise State University.
• Michael North, “Greek Medicine”, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/greek/index.html. This webpage provides an introduction into Greek contributors to medicine. I believe this page will provide useful information about these Greek people. I believe this webpage is reliable because it is published on the website of the National Library of Medicine by a person in the History of Medicine Division.