“In the beginning of 19th century violent unrest prevailed.....It is an unpleasant theme on which I must enter, but it cannot be circumvented if I am to describe the medical practice of my young days. He who shudders at it may skip the chapter."                     

...Professor Kussmaul in his “Recollections of Youth”.

The end of seventeenth to the late eighteenth century was the period of enlightenment in medical science. It had followed the Renaissance period of transition, the period when the Dark Age had ended, and the rebirth of scientificism took place. The experiments of Vesalius (1514-1564), Harvey (1578-1657), Ambroise (1510-1590), Sydenham (1624-1689) and Morgagni (1682-1771) had brought forth the first glimpses of true nature of human body along with the disease picture. This shook the ground off the century old theories of Galen.
 It was Galen (130-200 A.D.), the great follower of Hippocrates who brought medicine to a virtual standstill for more than fifteen centuries. His aim was to organise medicine so rigidly that his work would suffice medicine of all times. As to therapeutics, he firmly advocated the first Hippocratic principle of Contraria Contraris Curentur; he also worked upon the theory of basic humors bringing forth the concept of treating disease by regulation of amount of humors in body.

It had been century old, but his deep rooted theories of treatment had not been washed out completely and it was this mode of treatment which was still practiced at the time of Hahnemann.

Dr.Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843) decried the then practiced modes of treatment, he firmly opposed the drawing off of the fluid of life. It is to him that we owe our present healing art, but the true importance of his revolution can only be absorbed when we know the Medical practice of his days.
"Active medical treatment was rudimentary, but patients were kept clean and warm, and fed on invalid diets, while they followed the usual regime of blood letting and purgation".
......(Wellcome Medical History Museum, London).

Mode of Treatment:

"The doctrine of bad humors long enchained mankind, the dominion of acridities and perverted juices long prevailed. But as the specific anti-acridity remedies could not so readily be found out, the whole joke usually and principally consisted in producing evacuations. With the exception of a few empirical drinks and several kinds of mineral waters prescribed at haphazard, which the humoral physician commanded to enter the blood, to sweeten it, to correct it, and to expel by sweat and urine the impure part of it separated from the good portion as if by magic, the principal manoeuvre of the humoral school consisted in the evacuation of the bad blood(bleeding mania) and in the expulsion of the impure fluids by the mouth and anus(stercoralism, saburralism.)"
.....(Three current methods of treatment. By Dr. Samuel Hahnemann.)

The medicine of Hahnemann’s time was based on the assumption that sickness was caused by an imbalance in the amount of basic humors in the body. So they ought to be removed, as much and as fast as can be. The body being overtaxed could not eliminate it by the natural organs, so artificial organs of excretion were created by moxas, setons, fontanels, cautaries. Blood letting was done for almost every disease by use of Lancet, Leeches, Cupping etc. Blood letting was a popular mode of treatment. When a large quantity of blood was required, the appropriate vein was cut. If only a small amount was needed, a leech would be used. Benjamin Rush (1745-1843), a great physician of America, and one who systematised medicine there, typifies the practice of the time. He was such an ardent exponent of blood letting that “he shed more blood than any general in history.” He also advocated drastic purging by use of “ten and ten” i.e. 10 grains of calomel (it was often even 20 grains) and 10 grains of jalap. The oldest medical journal in Britain, founded in 1823 still bears the name of “Lancet” as that was the thing every physician carried all the time.
Blood Letting was not only a practice of 17th century; this procedure was mentioned in Talmud. The Talmud is mainly a book of regulations and laws and some details of Jewish medicines which are not to be found in Old Testament. The Talmud refers to Blood letting, cupping and the case of splints and bandages in 17th century.  It was such an essential practice that “A physician who neglected to employ it was considered a murderer by omission if his patient died.” .....(Samuel Hahnemann His Life and Works By Richard Haehl, M.D)

Some of the people who contributed their theories regarding treatment were:     It was Pierre Briston (1478-1522) of Paris who pointed out that the contrary method of “derivation” used by Hippocrates consisting in blood letting near the lesion and on the same side, was to be preferred.
L.Hoffman (1721 to 1807) found that most illnesses arose from degenerate acid humours which must either be eliminated from the body, or ameliorated by suitable “antiseptic” and “sweetening” remedies.

Stoll (1742 to 1788) taught that diseases were subject to a special constitution which is conditioned "by the prevailing climate and epidemic fevers".
Joh Kampf(1726-1787) asserted that most diseases have their seat in abdomen, and were caused by infarcts. For the elimination of these infarcts clysters were recommended, to which were added decoctions of landelion, chamomile, rye and wheat bran, and other "suitable herbs"
Towards the end of the nineties the system of John Brown (1736 to 1788) spread over Germany. He traced the origin of all diseases back to two causes, to a superabundance of excitability (sthenic) or the lack of excitability (asthenic). If the disease originated from abnormal excitability remedies were employed which were "irritability reducers" as for example Venesection, emetics and purgatives, sudorifics, starvation and cold water treatment, vegetable diet, bodily and mental rest. With asthenic diseases which preponderate, the stimulating remedies are used: warmth, alcohol, raw meat, spices, musk, camphor, ether, opium, physical and mental exercises, etc.

John Hunter (1728-1793), who proved by his inductive mode of research, especially in inflammations, that the morbid processes followed physiological laws.

The Frenchman Broussais (1772-1838) assumed that most diseases originated from engorgements and inflammations which had their seat principally in the stomach and intestines, therefore requiring the withdrawal of blood by means of leeches and venesection. Though Blood letting continued to be a major practice some other modes of treatment like venesection, the use of purgatives, moxas, setons, clyters was also prominent. These also worked towards the same aim of drawing out the basic humor, but each had a different method of doing it like:

Cupping – The process of drawing fluids (primarily blood) from the body by creating a vacuum at a point on the skin. A glass cup (bell shaped and capable of holding approximately 3-4ounces) is applied to the skin and a vacuum is created with the cup, which in turn draws the fluid out.

Setons – A twist of horse hairs, silk, or linen thread, drawn through the skin by a large needle and left to form an issue and act as a counter-irritant. An issue acts to allow fluids to drain away from an area.

Clyster – (enema) An injection into the bowels fir promoting an evacuation and relieving constipation.

Purgative – An agent which causes catharsis or movement of the bowels.

Moxa – a cone of cotton or wool mixed with an herb (usually aiye-mugwort, or Artemisia vulgaris), placed on the skin and then ignited to produce counter-irritation and/or stimulate an acupuncture point, in order to treat an ailment. This is the direct method of moxabustion, while the indirect method involves placing an agent between the moxa and skin. Ginger, garlic, aconite or salt are often used as this medium. Sometimes a stick of moxa will be placed on the top of the acupuncture needle and lit. It is a method of balancing the energy of body by giving or taking out heat from the body.

Sudorific – That which causes perspiration.

Fontanels – The word comes from French word fontaine, meaning ‘fountain’. It meant an issue or an artificial ulcer created for the discharge of blood (humors) from the body.

Venesection This method was followed by the followers of school of Salerno in the Greco-Roman period. In it a vein was sectioned to remove the excess blood. The technique was fully described in the “Regimen”. One of them was said in a poem:
“Three special months September, April, May; There are in which ‘tis good to ope a vein; In there three months the moon bears greatest sway”.
The above given modes of treatment were successful enough to draw out even the essential fluid of body. Neither there was any blood left nor any strength. It was customary that the body was so weak that it could not express its symptoms. This inability to complain was thought to be “no-symptom stage” i.e cure. Today even the idea of such barbaric methods seems to be quite “repugnant” and the age is termed as THE ERA OF HEROIC MEDICINES.
It was at this time that Hahnemann entered the scene and advocated against the exsanguinating theories. Some historians do suggest that the instant success of Homeopathy was not due to its theories and cure but to its advocacy of stopping of these practices and permitting the system to recover naturally-  vis medicatrix naturae.

Healing of the parts:  With the coming of Sydenham and Morgagni to the medical scenario, the disease perspective changed totally, it was now thought to be an Extrinsic entity. Sydenham’s(1624-1689) concept was that disease was a definite clinical entity grafted on host while Morgagni(1682-1781) believed that disease was due to pathological changes in tissues and organs. Thus the cause of disease was not exactly discovered but, the direction of cure had changed. Now curing meant healing the part of body affected or rather removing the cause of disease from the body. This definitely was not complete cure. In their pursuit of discovering the cause of disease, they were moving far beyond the realms of cure. Even going away from the views of Hippocrates, who had also advocated the necessity of the concept of “whole”.  “The nature of the body can only be understood as a whole.” Hippocrates.

This was the prevalent custom when Hahnemann came forwards with his view of Cessat effectus, cessat causa. If the effects which are the symptoms are cured in entirety (not suppressed) then obviously the causative factor must have been removed or normalised. This meant prescribing on Symptoms (effect produced by disease), for symptoms are the cry of the diseased body and they need to be removed first. Homeopathy believes if these symptoms are removed it meant the disease has been uprooted from the body.
Prevalence of Galenicals(Polypharmacy): The word “Galenicals” owes its origin to the Greek anatomist Galen(130-200 A.D) who was known for his radical views of curing by Contraria contraris. He was also famous for his complex prescriptions and combinations of medicines. He was known for compounding and mixing many medicines for his patients, so such prescription was known as Galenicals. After him also this practice continued for centuries. The largest number of ingredients recorded in one prescription is 400; the famous “Venice Treacle” had 65 and “Mithridate” contained 50. Such prescriptions were usually based on name of diseases rather than complaint of patient.
Such a mixed prescription could not bring out complete cure; it is like throwing together a number of different shaped arrows, with one’s eye shut, in the direction of bull’s eye. Though the choice is always easy, if one amongst them strikes at the right place you cure, but most of the time they hinder even the right one also to strike. Then often, they pierce at more places than needed to cure. So it always ended in suffering sooner or later.
It was Hahnemann who stood against such a practice; he called it “a useless practice of indiscriminate administration of several unknown drugs together”. The credit of individualizing the patient and treating him as a whole goes to Homeopathy.     
“The individual patient begins to count for something. He is no longer regarded as the uninteresting vehicle of a fascinating disease process”  ......Dr. Bernard Hart.

Such was the practice of Medicine at the times of Hahnemann. The time of barbaric modes of treatment, new discoveries, changing of disease perspective. The time when Hahnemann brought forth his Homeopathy, curing by Similar medicines. The aim of which was Rapid,Gentle and Permanent Cure. Hahnemann’s teachings have acted and are still acting as an ideal for compete cure. Humanity owes an everlasting debt to him for bringing such a reform in the Medical system.

“When you reflect that your own father had to take such horrible mixtures and other such medicines, and that you would be taking them today yourself, but for the introduction of Homoeopathy, which forced the old school doctor to stir around and learn something of a rational nature about his business you may honestly feel grateful that Homoeopathy survived the attempts of the allopaths to destroy it, even though you may never employ any physician but an allopath while you live.”
.......Mark Twain.