title: [A brief history of the natural causes of human disease].
abstract: In the study of the causes of disease that have arisen during the development of humankind, one can distinguish three major perspectives: the natural, the supernatural, and the artificial. In this paper we distinguish the rational natural causes of disease from the irrational natural causes. Within the natural and rational causal approaches of disease, we can highlight the Egyptian theory of putrid intestinal materials called "wechdu", the humoral theory, the atomistic theory, the contagious theory, the cellular theory, the molecular (genetic) theory, and the ecogenetic theory. Regarding the irrational, esoteric, and mystic causal approaches to disease, we highlight the astrological, the alchemical, the iatrochemical, the iatromechanical, and others (irritability, solidism, brownism, and mesmerism).
authors.affiliation: Escuela de Psicología, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile.
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lips-Castro
mesh_terms: D004194:Disease / Q000266:history* / Q000523:psychology; D006666:History of Medicine; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D010686:Philosophy, Medical / Q000266:history*