In early modern Europe, syphilis tormented individuals regardless of social standing. The various stages of infection rendered individuals with visible chancres or “pocky” marks throughout their body. The tertiary stage signaled the spreading of the disease from the infected parts into the brain and cardiovascular system, eventually leading to dementia and a painful death. Beginning with the initial medical responses to venereal disease in the sixteenth century and throughout the early modern period, medical practitioners attempted to identify the cause of syphilis. During the seventeenth century, English practitioners maintained that women were primarily responsible for both the creation and transmission of syphilis. In England, venereal disease became the physical manifestation of illicit sexual behavior and therefore women with syphilis demonstrated their sexual immorality. Contrastingly, French medical practitioners refrained from placing blame on women for venereal infection. The historiography of early modern discourse on venereal disease fails to account for this discrepancy between English and French perceptions of syphilis in the seventeenth century. This thesis seeks to fill the gap in this historiography and suggest why French practitioners abstained from singling out women as the primary source of venereal infection by suggesting the importance that cultural influences and religious practices had toward shaping medical perceptions. The cultural impact of the querelle des femmes and Catholic practices in France plausibly influenced the better portrayal of women within the medical treatises of seventeenth-century France when compared to Protestant England.

Thesis (doctoral)--Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [313]-330).

Thesis (doctoral)--Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [313]-330).

No description available.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-27T13:44:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MARTA ALEXANDRINA DE ALMEIDA SANTOS.pdf: 6086462 bytes, checksum: 0d8babbe30cab91ef4b7e4c94d1908fd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-09-18 / The present work aimed to investigate the appearance of the body in the western culture history, as well as the resultant changes in the hospital context, and in the health professionals experience and discourse starting from the late eighteenth century. This is a theoretical bibliographic research, based on Michel Foucault, specially on the work The Birth of the Clinic (1963). During the development of this research we sought to consider mainly the thought and the "toolbox" used by Foucault and by other foucaultian interlocutors in order to understand the Modern Age, which, as the author, comprehended the history of medical look archeology. We reflected on the changes occurred in the hospital context during the transition between the history of medicine/philosophy and clinical medicine/body in France and in the West from the late eighteenth century until the Modern Age, showing that the modern disease affected the body and it had a history of life and death. The Classical Age began with the medicine of species. The disease was understood as an entity outside of the body, as an organized and hierarchical framework in families and in genera. It was classificatory and it favored the superficial look not trying to unfold what was hidden, not revealing secrets. In the Modern Age, in the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, medicine acquired new knowledge along with great discoveries. A new world had aroused; the change of the superficial, shallow space of representation into the real, objective and deep space. A meaningful moment of the Modern Age, according to Foucault's reflection, was when the French anatomist physician Bichat, by the opening of the corpse, declared that the truth of the disease was in the death. The anatomy of the body allowed the disease to announce its truth in the seeing and hearing, in the looking and listening. Previously hidden objects were revealed, and were interrogated by Foucault such as: life, language, work, the patient and the hospital. The doctor look pervaded the interior of the ill body, setting some standards and rules to the patient and to the medical/hospital context. Modern thought showed that the hospital was the right place where the health professionals could develop their experiences and discourses. Medicine has been the profession that has led the changes in the field of health and these changes have reflected on the other professions in the hospital area. Therefore, there was a slight change in the speeches that brought out new ways that determined the orthopedic of health, education, school, body, hospital context and the training of health professionals. Michel Foucault analysed what was present in each speech and in each age, for the discourse had changed; it was no longer the same. We cannot deny that the experience of looking deeply generated many changes that revolutionized medicine. / O presente trabalho objetivou investigar o aparecimento do corpo na história da cultura ocidental, bem como as transformações daí decorrentes no contexto hospitalar, na experiência e no discurso dos profissionais da saúde a partir do final do século XVIII. Trata-se de uma pesquisa teórico-bibliográfica, embasada em Michel Foucault, especialmente na obra O Nascimento da Clínica (1963). Durante o desenvolvimento dessa pesquisa buscamos considerar, principalmente, o pensamento e a caixa de ferramentas utilizados por Foucault e outros interlocutores foucaultianos para compreender a Idade Moderna, a qual, conforme o autor, compreende a história da arqueologia do olhar médico. Refletimos sobre as transformações ocorridas no contexto hospitalar durante a transição entre a história da medicina/filosofia e medicina clínica/corpo, na França e no Ocidente, no final do século XVIII até a modernidade, mostrando que a doença moderna afetou o corpo e teve uma história de vida e morte. A Idade Clássica iniciou-se com a medicina das espécies. A doença era compreendida como uma entidade fora do corpo, como um quadro organizado e hierarquizado em famílias, gêneros. Foi classificatória e privilegiou o olhar superficial, não buscou encontrar o oculto e não desvelou segredos. Já na modernidade, séculos XIX e XX, a medicina adquiriu um conhecimento novo, com grandes descobertas. Era um novo mundo; foi a mudança do espaço da representação, do superficial, raso, para o espaço real, objetivo e profundo. Um momento especial da modernidade, segundo reflexão foucaultiana, foi quando o médico anatomista francês Bichat, por meio da abertura do cadáver, afirmou que a verdade da doença estava na morte. A anatomia do corpo permitiu à doença anunciar sua verdade no ver e ouvir, olhar e escutar. Objetos antes ocultos foram desvelados e interrogados por Foucault, tais como: a vida, a linguagem, o trabalho, o doente e o hospital. O olhar médico perpassou o interior do corpo doente, ditando algumas normas e regras ao doente e ao contexto médico/hospitalar. O pensamento moderno mostrou que a instituição hospitalar foi o lugar anunciado aos profissionais de saúde para desenvolvimento de suas experiências e seus discursos. A medicina foi a profissão que liderou as mudanças no campo da saúde e essas mudanças se refletiram às outras profissões da área hospitalar. Portanto, observou-se uma mudança nos discursos que se apresentaram discretamente, com novas formas que determinaram a ortopedia da saúde, da educação, da escola, do corpo, do contexto hospitalar e da formação do profissional de saúde. Michel Foucault analisou o que estava presente em cada discurso e em cada época, pois o discurso modificou-se; não é mais o mesmo. Já não há como negar que a experiência do olhar em profundidade gerou muitas mudanças e revolucionou a medicina.

This master's thesis is looking to expand on the previously written bachelor's thesis describing the current situation of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in the Czech Republic. It represents an attempt to interpret medicine as paradigm while reflecting the current political environment. The relevance of the topic is proved by the recently increasing interest of media which have been covering the Czech-Chinese Centre for TCM in Hradec Kralove and activities of the Ministry of Health in discussions about possible synergies between modern medicine and TCM. The thesis compares modern medicine and TCM from the perspective of the theory of paradigms and relativity of knowledge by Thomas Kuhn. It aims to test aspects of the theory by conducting research among practitioners and students of TCM. The thesis also tries to find parallels between the two medicinal approaches and to identify their respective advantages and disadvantages. It attempts to gauge how challenging it is for students of TCM to comprehend two different medicinal approaches and whether they had any issues understanding them. Among other goals of the thesis is to give some insight into the process and possible future trends of the legal basis of TCM in the Czech Republic. In order to accomplish these goals, a set of questionnaires was...

Thesis (Ph.D. (Botany)) -- University of Limpopo, 2023 / The use of medicinal plants as a source of treatment for various ailments including fungal infections is still practised in South Africa and across the globe. Fungal infections especially of Cryptococcus, Candida and Aspergillus species are the main cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, particularly in developing countries. Traditional medicine is used as a source of remedies worldwide and has contributed extensively towards the development of modern medicine. Twelve selected medicinal plants (Kleinia longiflora DC. Berchemia discolor (Klotzsch) Hemsl., Persea americana Mill., Sansevieria hyacinthoides (L.) Druce, Dichrostachys cinerea (L.) Wright &Arn, Withania somnifera Dunal (Ashgandh), Momordica balsamina L., Lonchocarpus capassa, Pappea capensis, Rhus lancea L. fil, Peltophorum africanum, Maytenus heterophylla (Eckl. & Zeyh.) Robson) were analysed qualitatively for antifungal activities against Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans. The plant materials were extracted with solvents of various polarities such as acetone, dichloromethane, methanol, hexane, and water. Methanol extracted the highest amount of crude extracts from all the plant species as compared to other organic solvents. Chemical components of the extracts were analysed using aluminum backed Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) plates and developed using three different eluent systems: Ethyl acetate: methanol: water [EMW], Chloroform: ethyl acetate: formic acid [CEF] and Benzene: ethanol: ammonia hydroxide [BEA]. CEF was the best eluent solvent system since it separated more compounds from plant extracts. This indicates that the active compounds were relatively non-polar. More chemical compounds were observed in TLC chromatograms separated with CEF, followed by BEA and EMW. All plant extracts had shown different chemical components when separated from the three solvent systems. The bioautography and serial dilution assays were used to determine the biological activity of plant extracts against the tested microorganisms, respectively. All the tested plant extracts revealed some varying degrees of fungal inhibition, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) values ranging between 0.02 mg/ml and 2.5 mg/ml. The aqueous extracts had shown some activity against the tested microorganisms. Noteworthy, antifungal activity was observed in acetone, DCM, hexane, and methanol root extracts of D. cinerea against the three tested microorganisms with MIC values ranging between 0.02 mg/ml and 0.04 mg/ml. Furthermore, acetone extracts of D. cinerea and P. africanum had excellent activity against three fungal pathogens with MIC values of 0.02 mg/ml and 0.08 mg/ml. Active compounds were observed in dichloromethane extracts of W. somnifera with Rf values of 0.40 and 0.64. In TLC chromatograms separated with BEA, active compounds were observed in acetone, hexane, and methanol leaf extract of P. americana, this indicates that the fungal compounds were relatively non-polar. No active compounds were observed in plant extracts of K. longiflora. Active compounds were visible in all extracts of P. capensis in TLC chromatograms developed in CEF and EMW. The antioxidant present in plants prevents the free radicals from causing various diseases in humans by inhibiting the oxidation of free radicals at the cellular level. The qualitative and quantitative 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) methods were used to determine the antioxidant activities of plant extracts. The presence of antioxidant compounds was indicated by yellow bands against the purple background on the TLC plates. More antioxidant compounds were observed in acetone and dichloromethane extracts of S. hyacinthoides developed in BEA compared to other plant species tested. Methanol, hexane, and water extracts of L. capassa revealed good antioxidant activity against DPPH by having a high percentage of inhibition compared to other solvents. Noticeably, extracts of P. africanum possess strong antioxidant activity as compared to other plant species. Solvent-solvent fractionation using column chromatography of the acetone extract led to the isolation of six compounds. The biological activity of the isolated compounds of L. capassa was investigated against the tested pathogenic fungi. The isolated compounds revealed some varying degrees of inhibition to the fungal pathogens. The largest quantity was isolated from compound 1 (80 mg), compound 4 (39 mg), compound 3 (27 mg), compounds 2 and 5 (14 mg) and the least was compound 6 (4.8 mg). However only three compounds were successfully identified as Lupeol (compound 1), Friedelin (compound 3) and 6-(γ,γ-Dimethylallyl)-3’,4’-dimethoxy-6”,6”- dimethylpyrano-[2”,3”:7,8]-flavanone (compound 4). Compounds 2, 5 and were not identified due to some impurities. More importantly, the isolated compounds exhibited good antioxidant activity in qualitative and quantitative scavenging assays, which indicates that isolated compounds of L. capassa can scavenge the free radicals causing fungal infections in humans. The results support the traditional use of the selected plants to combat fungal infections and related ailments by the local people and traditional health practitioners in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province. The (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol) -2,5-diphenyltetrazoliumbromide) (MTT) assay was used to determine the toxic effects of the plant crude extract and isolated compounds. Lupeol and 6-(γ,γ-Dimethylallyl)-3’,4’-dimethoxy-6”,6”-dimethylpyrano-[2”,3”:7,8]- flavanone revealed the same degree of cytotoxicity against the Vero monkey kidney cells. All the compounds were not toxic with an LC50 value of ˃ 0.2 mg/ml. / University of Limpopo and National Research Foundation

If we consider the representation of the body in the epic-romances of Torquato Tasso, Philip Sidney, and Edmund Spenser, certain instances of wounding and laceration emerge as crucial turning points in the development of their respective narratives: Clorinda’s redemptive mutilation, Parthenia’s blood-drenched pallor, Amavia’s disquieting suicide, Venus’s insatiable orifice, Amoret’s “perfect hole.” This thesis affords a detailed comparative study of such passages, contending that the wound assumed a critical metaphoric dimension in sixteenth-century epic-romance literature, particularly in relation to the perceived association between body condition and erotic desire. Along with its function as a marker of martial valor and somatic sacredness, the wound, I argue, increasingly is designated in these epic-romances as an interiorizing apparatus, one liable to accrue at any instance into a surplus of unanticipated meaning. As such, the wound becomes an emblem in these texts of what I call the phenomenology of desire—the equation of consummation and loss—as well as the aesthetic and metaphoric mechanism by which these writers seek to overcome it. The four chapters of this thesis constitute individual but cumulative points of response to the problem of thinking about desire as a type of wound. For Tasso, a wound poses a challenge to physical, psychological, and spiritual integrity, but its remarkable capacity for aestheticization also allows Tasso to envision it as a synthesizer of sacred and erotic affects. For Sidney, the prospect that a wound could define a body as courageous or pathetic, as sacred or corrupt, became both politically and socially troubling, and the New Arcadia, I argue, proleptically attempts to defend Sidney against interpretations of wounds that register them as manifestations of corrupt desire. For Spenser, body fracture and erotic wounding are analogic (indeed, almost indistinguishable), and The Faerie Queene investigates the prospect that confusing these analogies can become an empowering, even revelatory experience. In each of these epic-romances, a wound serves both a literal and a figurative function and, in this way, is established as the foremost image by which these writers imagine strength and mutilation, affect and heroism, epic and romance as being inextricably bound.

This research work is set out to investigate healing practised in Africa today. There are many ways of healing in African; others are classified as foreign because they came out of Africa especially from European influence while others are considered local or traditional. The research shall dig out the influence of what is known as foreign methods or approaches of healing in Africa today and what African healing can learn from other methods of healing practised today. There shall be contemporary stories and facts about the situation of healing today and relevant statistics where necessary. The research also comes out with appropriate suggestions on how to combat contemporary illnesses of today. This includes what should be improved and how. This work covers the whole of Africa. / Philosophy & Systematic Theology / M.Th. (Systematic Theology)

This research work is set out to investigate healing practised in Africa today. There are many ways of healing in African; others are classified as foreign because they came out of Africa especially from European influence while others are considered local or traditional. The research shall dig out the influence of what is known as foreign methods or approaches of healing in Africa today and what African healing can learn from other methods of healing practised today. There shall be contemporary stories and facts about the situation of healing today and relevant statistics where necessary. The research also comes out with appropriate suggestions on how to combat contemporary illnesses of today. This includes what should be improved and how. This work covers the whole of Africa. / Philosophy and Systematic Theology / M.Th. (Systematic Theology)