In time, as thinking men came to question ‘Authority’ and the ‘Scientific Method’ began to be developed, the arcane ancient practices were questioned and new ideas were embraced.
Galen has long been viewed as a hindrance to medical progress, but certainly the man himself was a pioneer in surgery and the understanding of the human anatomy.
It was the Church and establishment Bureaucrats which restrained Physicians for centuries.
I loved your post here.
Well thank you. I wanted to get into the opposition the medical community had to the germ theory of disease, antiseptics and other issues, but I couldn't remember all the details as well as I would have liked.
The story about Pettenkofer was a hoot. Drinking Cholera to prove germs won't make you sick? Priceless!
I see in medical history the same thing I see in the history of science, and indeed, the history of mankind.
Egos get in the way of change. People defend the existing system until it is no longer defensible, then they change.
This is not to say all change is good, Lord knows a lot of changes we have seen are terrible, but change that improves things are indeed "progress."