ABSTRACT
Traditional oriental medicine Historically, Korean traditional medicine largely adopted the Chinese medicine since its beginning about 5,000 years ago. ‘Fifty-two Diseases’, the earliest Chinese medical record written 3,000 years ago, described symptoms of epilepsy and its treatment consisting of ‘repeat bathing with fluid containing a brain pill’ called ‘ ( : brain, : tablet, : drug)’. This indicated that ancient Chinese doctors had already known that epilepsy was originating from the brain. Despite their clear insight on the origin of epilepsy there has been no record describing any surgical treatment of epilepsy throughout the prolonged history of Chinese medicine. The major treatment modality of epilepsy in Chinese medicine consisted of various prescriptions using herbs, minerals, and materials from animals, and various procedures such as acupunctures, massages, and moxacautery. In the early 16th century, Dr. Joon Huh, the father of Korean traditional medicine, wrote a book called ‘ ( : east, : medicine, : gems, : book)’, which had summarized his clinical experiences as well as previous medical knowledge available in Korean and Chinese medical literature. He classified epilepsy into eight types based on charateristic symptoms, age of onset, and the traditional concept of etiopathogenesis. The book, which is still regarded as the textbook of Korean traditional doctors, has described more than 300 prescriptions and various procedures applicable to different types of seizures but none for the surgical treatment of epilepsies.1
