1. Medicine is a science.
• It is derived from the Latin word “medicus,” which means physician.
• In a broader perspective, medicine is the science of diagnosing, detecting, treatment, and management of diseases to restore health.

2. Hippocrates is the father of modern medicine.
• A Greek physician famously known as the most superlative figure in the history of medicine.
• On the other hand, the Egyptians deserve the credit for introducing a methodological approach in the treatment and cure of diseases.

3. Back in ancient times, the practice of medicine was described as gruesome.
• From the simplest bloodletting procedure where ancient doctors let patients bleed to death to collect as many as four pints of blood to save other people’s lives.
• Another modality used for extracting blood, as well as an effective mode of treatment, was the use of leeches because of their bloodsucking powers.
• The use of a venomous snake way back in ancient Greece was of great use and believed to have a very powerful property for healing illnesses. At the present time, scientists also believe that snake venoms are a potential contributor in the field of medicine for better health.

4. For thousands of years, medicine was considered an art.
• Healers from ancient times strongly connect their knowledge and skills of treatment to religious and cultural beliefs.
• It has been the notion of ancient people that an ailment was caused by a supernatural intervention from the force of nature and its entity and, therefore, cannot be avoided.

5. Before the emergence of medicine, the human life expectancy was recorded as 40 years.
• This is due to lack of understanding and knowledge in management of different illnesses. With medical progress, life expectancy was doubled after two centuries, proving that the pressing issues on health care can get a lot better.

6. Medicine is one of the major contributors in the treatment of illnesses.
• The world is constantly changing, and the evolution of disease-causing pathogens is also amplifying, which is pressing to global health.
• Medicines are widely used therapeutic modalities, and they encompasses different practices or approaches to treat and address symptoms of common illnesses. In fact, medicine has become one of the necessities of living.

7. Medicines for human consumption are selected based on criteria.
• Criteria are set for reasons of safe administration and efficacy.
• This is primarily done through evidence-based studies, processes, and overall quality but not disregarding its cost-effectiveness to satisfy the healthcare needs of the growing population.

8. Medicine may impose serious problems with a disease.
• If taken incorrectly and not as prescribed, medicine may lead to worsening of the condition, may cause greater complications, may significantly lower the quality of life, and may cause an early death. This why medicine use should be communicated to the patient in a crystal clear manner to ensure that the patient understands it to the best of his or her knowledge.
• In addition, some medicines may cause adverse reactions and cause serious complications when taken with other medicines or certain foods; that is why patient education is vital.

9. Practice of medicine with disregard for the bounds of safety and efficacy is known as “quackery.”
• These are impostors commonly known by most people as “Quack Doctors” and termed as “quacksalvers” in modern Dutch.
• These pretenders have been around since the seventeenth century.
• They promote fraudulent medical practices and claim to have the knowledge and skill to treat a certain disease.

10. Medicine is always in the race of continuing research.
• It’s a fact that the human body is a sustainable form of life with ever-changing biological phenomenon.
• More research is essential for the evaluation of efficacy and lowering the side effects as much as scientists can (which is done through several clinical trials), especially for geriatric and pediatric populations.