_SIAMESE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF MEDICINE._
Nature, according to the Siamese, is made up of four elements――namely,
earth, fire, wind and water.
The human body is supposed to be composed of the same elements, which
they divide into two classes――visible and invisible. To the former
belong everything that can be seen, as the bones, flesh, blood, etc.;
to the latter, the wind and the fire.
The body is composed of twenty kinds of earth, twelve kinds of water,
six kinds of wind and four kinds of fire. The varieties of wind are as
follows: The first kind passes from the head to the feet, and the
second variety from the feet to the head; the third variety resides
above the diaphragm, and the fourth circulates in the arteries,
forming the pulse; the fifth enters the lungs, and the sixth resides
in the intestines. The four kinds of fire are――first, that which gives
the body its natural temperature; the second, that which causes a
higher temperature, as after exercise or in fevers; the third variety
causes digestion, and the fourth causes old age. The Siamese divide
the body into thirty-two parts, as the skin, heart, lungs, etc. The
body is subject to ninety-six diseases, due to the disarrangement of
the earth, wind, fire and water. Thus, if there is an undue proportion
of fire we have one of the fevers. Dropsies are caused by too great a
proportion of water, and wind causes all manner of complaints. Nine
out of ten of the natives, when asked what is the matter with them,
answer “_Pen lom_” (“wind”).
The external elements are constantly acting upon the elements making
up the body, causing health or disease. Thus, in the hot season they
believe we are more liable to fevers, and during the wet season too
much water is absorbed, causing dropsy. Earth is supposed to produce
disease by invisible and impalpable mists and vapors.
Spirits are supposed to have great power over our bodies, deranging
the elements and producing all manner of diseases. The minds of the
natives are thus held in continual bondage for fear of the spirits,
for no one knows what great sins he may have committed in a previous
state of existence for which he may be called upon to suffer at any
moment. Thus the people are constantly endeavoring to propitiate the
spirits by presents, incantations, etc.
In the time of Buddha lived one still worshiped as the father of
medicine. To him it is said the plants all spoke, telling their names
and medical properties. These were written in books, and have become
sacred. If they fail to produce the effects attributed to them, the
fault is never theirs, but the want of success is due to the absence
of merit in either doctor or patient. The natives use almost
everything as medicine; the bones and skins of various animals occupy
a large part of their pharmacopœia, while the galls of snakes, tigers,
lizards, etc. are among the most valuable of their medicines. Many of
the Siamese remedies are very complicated, being composed of scores of
different ingredients.
The following is a characteristic prescription for the bite of a
snake: A portion of the jaw of a wild hog; a portion of the jaw of a
tame hog; a portion of the jaw of a goat; a portion of goose-bone; a
portion of peacock-bone; a portion of the tail of a fish; a portion of
the head of a venomous snake. These, being duly compounded, form a
popular remedy when the venom has caused lockjaw.
Many other native remedies are equally marvelous, but I cannot mention
them. Every native physician has an image of the father of medicine in
his house. The drugs are placed in this idol’s hand and receive his
blessing; afterward they are taken to the patient’s house and boiled
in earthen pots, a wickerwork star being placed below and above the
drugs to give the medicines strength. The patient is usually obliged
to swallow many potsful of medicine, each pot containing two or three
quarts. If the patient dies, the doctor gets no fee.
The influence which Western medical science is exerting in Siam is
shown in the following incident, mentioned in a recent Bangkok
newspaper. The young man alluded to is a graduate of the Presbyterian
mission boarding-school: “Dr. Tien Hee, who received a diploma from
the New York University School of Medicine, where he graduated some
years ago, performed a very difficult and delicate operation a few
days ago upon a distinguished Siamese official, and we learn with
pleasure that the king has since graciously permitted him to practice
in the royal palace.”
A writer in the same paper gives the following account of a hospital
established by the Siamese, and conducted by a graduate of a Western
medical college, the same that is mentioned above: “To-day (November
29th) I had the pleasure of visiting the first and only hospital
organized and controlled by the Siamese within the kingdom of Siam. It
was opened for the reception of patients on the 14th of December. It
is a large, airy, two-storied building, situated within the
city-walls, near Sampeng market-gate, and has capacity for sixty
patients. It is a hospital devoted to the exclusive care of soldiers,
and is under the management of a Siamese physician, Dr. Tien Hee. Siam
owes the establishment of its first hospital to the energy of one of
its most intelligent noblemen, Pra Nai Wai, who completed and
presented the building for it to the Siamese government. His Majesty
accepted the gift and has promised it his support. It has for its
director a cultivated and capable Siamese physician, who will be able
to give the patients the benefit of Western medical and surgical
science.”