Review Article
Year: 2020 | Month: December | Volume: 7 | Issue: 12 | Pages: 1-9
Ancient History of Hospitals
Dr. (Prof.) Roopam Kumar Guptai , Ratan Lal Guptaii
iPhD (Management), MD (Anatomy), ACME, MHA, MSc, DIH, MBBS,
Professor (Anatomy) & Medical Superintendent, C. U. Shah Medical College Hospital, Dudhrej Road, Surendranagar, Gujarat. 363 001
iiM.A. (Labour & Social Welfare), Research Scholar in Indian History,Retd. Human Resource Executive,
Tata Motors
Corresponding Author: Roopam Kumar Gupta
ABSTRACT
The history of medicine and different healing therapies have been extensively studied and published, but the history of ‘Hospitals’ or the place where these healing activities were actually carried out, often escapes attention of medical historians. In this review article the authors have presented a lucid account of the Ancient History of Hospitals from approx. 6500 BC to 650 AD. Beginning with the etymological investigation of the word ‘Hospital’, the author describes in detail the Neolithic ‘Cave Hospitals’, Ancient Indian ‘Ayurvedic Medical Schools’ of Takshila and Kasi, the Buddhist ‘Monastic Hospitals’ in Srilanka, Mesopotamian ‘House of Life & Healing’, Tibet’s ‘Palace hospitals’, Greek Temple Hospitals ‘Asclepeions’, Roman Military Hospitals ‘Valetudinaria’, Medicity ‘Basilias’, and ‘Bimaristans’ of Gondeshapur. This endeavour reviews the ancient history of hospitals to highlight the charisma of the past ‘achievements’ in an innovative style and through a new paradigm.
Keywords: History of Hospital, Asclepeions, Valetudinaria, Basilias, Bimaristan.
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