Pneumonia – “a disease of the ancients”

Doctor examining a lung radiography   The COVID-19 pandemic has been a painful reminder of how important lung health is. But there are many other threats to this very vital organ. Numerous lung diseases have plagued the human race throughout history, and doctors have been working tirelessly to find effective means of beating them – a battle that continues to the present day.  While many diseases cause symptoms in the lung, several of them attack this organ directly. “Pneumonia” is not a single disease, but rather a generic term for inflammatory conditions affecting the lungs. Pneumonias affect hundreds of millions of people each year, and are the leading causes of mortality among both children and elderly individuals, with an estimated 4 million deaths every year [1].  An old enemy Pneumonia has existed for thousands of years, with Hippocrates himself describing the symptoms during the fifth to fourth centuries BCE [2]. Knowledge of the disease likely dates back even further, as Hippocrates himself considered it to be ‘named by the ancients’. The name appears to be derived from the Greek word pneúmōn, meaning ‘lung’  In common usage, most forms of pneumonia are caused by infection. Maimonides’ (12th century) stated ‘The basic symptoms that occur in pneumonia and that are never lacking are as follows: acute fever, sticking pleuritic pain in the side, short rapid breaths, serrated pulse, and cough.’ This is mirrored by many modern textbooks even t...
Source: GIDEON blog - Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: Tags: Epidemiology News Source Type: blogs