From the History of Medicine

Today's health care professionals work hard to promote hygiene, prevent and detect disease, cure patients, and when that is impossible, reduce their suffering. Still, it is worthwhile to remember that the modern practice of medicine has not always been with us but was developed over thousands of years. All human societies have medical beliefs that provide explanations for birth, death, and disease. Throughout history, illness has been attributed to witchcraft, demons, astral influence, or the will of the gods. These ideas still retain some power, with faith healing and shrines still used in some places, although the rise of scientific medicine over the past millennium has altered or replaced mysticism in most cases.