Gac Med Mex
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The relevance of basic sciences in medical education has been recognized for centuries, and the importance of exposing medical students to science was acknowledged and reinforced by the recommendations of Flexner in 1910. Since then, traditional medical education has been divided into preclinical and clinical subjects; within this scheme, the first terms of undergraduate medical education usually concentrate on basic sciences, while subsequent ones focus on clinical sciences and clinical training. ⋯ The removal of basic science subjects from the medical curriculum is paradoxical because nowadays the value of biomedical knowledge and the scientific reasoning to make medical decisions is more appreciated than ever. To maintain its relevance in medical education, basic sciences have to confront three challenges: a) increasing its presence in clinical education; b) developing nuclear programs; and c) renewing laboratory instruction.
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Historical Article
[A review of the principle mythical gods in ancient greek medicine].
Like their prehistoric ancestors, the people of early civilizations lived related to the supernatural. Facing life-threatening situations, such as illness and death, people of ancient civilizations resorted to divination, prophecy, or the oracle. Regarding the curative activities of the ancient Greek civilization, there was a period in which these processes were exclusively linked to a supernatural perspective of the origin of disease. ⋯ Although the first divine figure of Greek mythology related to medicine was Paeon, healing cults related to Apollo and Asclepius had a higher importance in tradition and Greek mythology. The Apollonian divine healing consisted in the ability to eliminate chaos and keep away evil, while in the Asclepian perspective, the role of healer was linked to specific procedures. Personal and medical skills allowed Asclepius to surpass his father and achieve his final consecration as a god of medicine.