CHAPTER 1
You Are Wonderfully and Fearfully Made
Thanks To My Ancestors
I would like to dedicate all that we know today about modern medicine to my ancestors, the ancient Egyptians, who gave this world medicine. As you may already know, the study and practice of medicine started in Ancient Egypt. Primitive by today's standards, physicians in Egypt nonetheless showed great initiative and impressive knowledge of the human body and its inner workings, as well as the treatment of illness and disease. As a civilization, the Egyptians were very fearful of illness and disease. Perhaps it is for this reason that medicine became such an important pursuit for them. They did what they could to prevent illness, by bathing and purifying their bodies habitually, shaving off their heads and body hair (women included), and maintaining a diet that excluded many "unclean" animals (including fish). However, they still could not escape the onslaught of disease. Because of this dilemma, the Egyptians pursued rapid medical research to combat these diseases. Egyptian medicine became a far-reaching discipline, encompassing many other fields. Egyptian physicians, like physicians today, were specialists in their particular disciplines. These disciplines included pharmacology, dentistry, gynecology, crude surgical procedures, general healing, autopsy, and embalming.
I believe it is from the process of embalming, or mummification, that Ancient Egyptian physicians gained their greatest knowledge of the human anatomy. During the mummification process, which prepared the dead body for its journey into the afterlife, most of the organs were removed (brain, intestines, lungs, liver, etc.). This provided opportunities for examination and observation of many specimens through the years in the pursuit of medical knowledge. In fact, the Egyptians were so extraordinary in their knowledge of healing and anatomy that they impressed the Greeks, who were quite knowledgeable in the field of medicine in their own right.
I am so thankful that my ancestors, chronicled their medical research along with all their knowledge on papyrus scrolls. Some of these papyri still exist today, and I have had the rare opportunity to be able to see and read some of their medical research on original papyrus. The documents left behind by them helped to advance the pursuit and study of the field of medicine throughout history. Likewise, I have learned a great deal about the study and practice of medicine in Ancient Egyptian cultures.
Let's Talk About Our Body
In preparation for this chapter, I thought about my earlier years of study and research. The physical body that house our spirits and souls during our stay on this Earth are "wonderfully and fearfully made" indeed. It is truly awesome, and I am going to attempt to prove it by providing several examples that will astound your mind. I hope by the time you are finished with this chapter, you will have learned a few things that you didn't know previously!
I am often asked, "How can you believe and teach the power of the body to heal itself when there is so much sickness and disease in the world?" I respond by sharing what I call, The Wonders of the Body. I explain how the organs, tissues, and cells in the body were made to work perfectly and in very specific order. Sickness and disease is a result of improper care of ourselves and making poor lifestyle choices. This causes the body to break down over time. If supported properly, (i.e. taking care of ourselves, eating nutritious food, drinking pure water, exercising daily, etc), the body is practically unlimited in what it can do. It can heal itself of virtually any condition or disease known to man if the communication from the brain to the cells of the body is working without the presence of interference.
Our Creator spared no cost when it came to detail in designing our body. I have noticed that the more that scientists study how the body works; the marvelous simplicity combined with the astounding complexity, the more amazed they become. Constant study over an entire lifetime has barely begun to scratch the surface of just how intricate the inner workings of the human body really are.
Let me share with you a few of the examples of just how incredible our body, otherwise known as a machine, actually is. We see with it, hear with it, breathe with it, walk and run with it, and sense pleasure and agony with it. Its bones, muscles, arteries, veins and internal organs are organized with marvelous design, and when we examine this design in detail we find even more amazing facts. Every part of our body is made up of the same material called cells. Our body is the entire structure of a human organism. It consists of a head, neck, torso, two arms, two legs and internal organs. By the time we reach adulthood, our body consists of close to 10 trillion cells. This group of cells combines and works in tandem to form tissues. The tissues combine to form organs, which work together to form the organ system. The organ system of our body includes the musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular system, digestive system, endocrine system, integumentary system, urinary system, lymphatic system, immune system, respiratory system, and nervous and reproductive system.
The Brain and Nervous System
The master computer, the brain, combined with all of its wirings is called the nervous system. Everything that happens in the cells of our body comes from the brain telling them what to do. This is true from the time we are conceived until the time we die. The brain communicates with the body by sending messages down the spinal cord to the cells, tissues, and organs along the nerves. The brain gets signals from 130 million receptors of light in the eyes, 100,000 hearing receptors, 3,000 taste buds, 30,000 heat sensing nerve endings, 250,000 cold sensing nerve endings, and 500,000 touch sensing nerve endings. It receives most of these messages from all parts of the body at the same time! I hope you are getting a good idea of the awesome complexity of the brain and how it is able to handle such enormous inputs of information without you being aware of it. This all...
