• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.617-625
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• 2002

At present in many cases the methods of medical treatment in Oriental medicine Korea lays emphasis on internal use, but to improve the curative value and for the diversity of medical treatment it is desperately needed to study external medical treatment more deeply. From the viewpoint of medical science history, as various additives and new discoveries are developed this has made it easy to use and improved the curative value of it ; thus external medical treatment has been rapidly progressed both in quality and quantity. Therefore, in studying the external medical treatment, it is very important to know it's history. So, I intend to study the early external medical treatment first. The external medical treatments mentioned in the Mawangtew medical books (52Byeongbang, Yangsangbang, Japryobang, Taesanseo), Hwangjenaekyeong, and Geumgweyoryak which were written or presumed to be written in early times were examined to study the early external medical treatments. The parts of body or diseases in which external medical treatments were applied; the methods of external application and the administration of medicine; the number of prescriptions, and the herbs used are also examined. I came to the following conclusions as I compared the kinds of books with the itemized lists based on the results of examination. 1) Though Mawangtew medical books (52Byeongbang, Yangsangbang, Japryobang, Taesanseo) was written earlier than Hwangjenaekyeong and Geumgweyoryak, there are more incidents of the disease in which external medical treatments were applied, the methods of external application and the administration of medicine, the kinds of prescriptions , and the different herbs used in Mawangtew medical books than in Hwangjellaekyeong and Geumgweyoryak. 2) In the six medical books mentioned above there are more prescriptions for external diseases and dermatitis than for internal diseases. 3) From the viewpoint of the number of prescriptions, the most frequent use of a medicine type was a natural type of medicine. The second was ointment type, and the third was liquid type. A powder type was the fourth. 4) In the administration of medicine, combination types such as both pasting and plastering were used most frequently. 5) Vegetable, mineral and animal nature herbs were used diversely for the early external medical treatments. Things such as wine and vinegar were also used as a herb.