The Journal of Korean Medical History (한국의사학회지)
- Volume 15 Issue 2
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- Pages.45-58
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- 2002
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- 1229-6147(pISSN)
Discovery of the disease and medical explanation -focusing on smallpox-
병증(病症)의 발견(發見)과 의학적(醫學的) 설명(說明) -두창(痘瘡)을 중심으로-
Abstract
Appearance of a new disease can be seen as a raising a question to the established medicine system. If the problem can not be solved, the established medicine system becomes a degenerating program. So, the process of discovering the nature of a disease and giving a medical explanation was studied focused on smallpox. When smallpox was infected in the begining, many were killed especially mortality of young people were high. It is a general process of contagious diseases known as an epidemic. When the plague is prevalent continuously, it comes to stay and becomes a pediatric disease called smallpox. Time of discovering the nature of smallpox and giving a medical explanation and the time that came to stay are correspondant. This process of medical explanation is a dialectical process.
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