A brief history of medicine

Physician letting blood from a patient. British Library, London.
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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
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3000 BC. This mixture of roots and leaves will cure you.
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2000 BC. Roots don’t work well enough.   If you’re sick, sacrifice a goat.
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0.050 AD. Sacrifice is for pagans!   If you want to get well, you must pray.
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1000 AD. Prayer isn’t enough.   Some blood-letting will do you good.
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1800 AD. Blood-letting weakens the patient.   This potion will fix you up.
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1900 AD. Potions are pure quackery.   Here, swallow this pill.
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1950 AD. Pills don’t work.   Now we have antibiotics.
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2010 AD. Antibiotics can cause more harm than good.  
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Here, take this mixture of roots and leaves.
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Author unknown