HOMEOPATHY IN THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE

Late 18th : Questioning Therapeutic Methods

In the 18th century and, in fact, since its very origins, medicine has used medicinal substances derived essentially from nature. These were plant, mineral or animal substances used empirically.

At that time, scientists and physicians were beginning to wonder about the pharmacological properties of these medicinal substances. Thus began experiments to discover their curative properties, leading to the birth of modern pharmacology as we know it. This movement started with experimentation on healthy volunteers or patients and continued into the 19th century with experiments on animals using isolated, purified substances derived from these same natural sources.

The scientific thinking of the physicians who came to be called "modernists" placed man at the center of medicine. Clinical observation developed and gave rise to what is known as "bedside" or practical medicine.

EIn Europe, the School of Medicine of Vienna, highly active in research, became the standard for the development of practical medicine. In 1777, the young Samuel Hahnemann came to complete his studies in medicine there. He became part of the modernist school of thought and undertook research into the pharmacological properties of medicinal substances.