Science Museum

- Prehistoric Medicine -

Firstly, the medicine appeared in Mesopotamia, cradle of humanity. There, the physicians thought that illnesss was caused by the invasion of an offended god or a bad spirit into the body of the patient. Healers were priests. The different methods to heal were exorcism "reading" the flight of a flock of birds or in entrails. Moreover, their surgery was very simple : just lancing or scarification.

However, Egyptian medicine was more advanced. They knew a huge number of drugs, which were principally derived from plants, but animal and mineral substances were also used. The cosmetic products were used in medicine, for instance the khol. Egyptians were the first to employ the three laxatives that are still used nowadays : colocynth, senna and castor oil. Surgery was minor.

A lot of gods were relative to medicine, such as Thoth who was the patron of physicians or Theoris, the goddess of pregnant women. Besides, Egyptians believed in afterlife : that's why they practiced mummification to preserve the corpses. Internal organs were removed, except the heart, which was considered as the seat of mind and emotions. Then, the corpse was treated and wrapped with stripes. So we can deduce that they had a great knowledge of human anatomy.

- Medicine of the Arab World -

First of all, medicine of the Arab world includes Arab, Persian, Jewish and Christian physicians working within the Islamic world. Arab medicine was derived from Greek and Roman ones. There were several famous doctors, such as Ibn-Sina or Al-Zahwari.

In this medicine, the use of drugs was extended by the introduction of mixtures. On top of that, Muslim law forbade dissection. Some of the Muslims' knowledge of anatomy was derived from clinical observation, but most was taken from Greek authorities. Many Greek therapeutic techniques were still used, but adapted and improved. Not only have Islamic physicians extended the range of ingredients used in medicine, but also they created the polypharmacy, which consisted in putting several drugs together. Islamic treatises on pharmacy and toxicology continued to exert considerable influence beyond the end of Middle Ages.

- Exploring Space Gallery -

The space exploration began by sky watching, a human activity since the beginning of humanity. But it has mostly expanded during the Cold War, when USA and Russia fought to be the first in space conquest.

The American space programm began in 1946 by the taking of the first photograph of the Earth from space. From 1962, the NASA was enable to convert missiles into space rockets. The numerous missiles projects started by the USA during the 60's have permitted to improve the aerospatial science. Then, for over three years, Russia had been beating USA in the space race : first artificial satellite (Sputnik), first animal in orbit (the dog Laïka), first Moon probe (Luna 2). Finally, in 1961, Russia sent the first man in space : Yuri Gagarin, who became a national hero.

However, it was the USA which launched the first man on the Moon in 1969, with the Apollo XI mission. That's how Neil Armstrong, accompanied by Michael Collins, became the first man to walk on our satellite – while Buzz Aldrin stayed in orbit around it. This event has been broadcasted in the whole world, by all the medias, and is a major turning point in the history of humanity. Since this date, space exploration continues, with a lot of discovers every year. And we don't know how far we can go...