Parasitic Diseases in Dong-Eui-Bo-Kam

Yeo, In Sok

Abstract

Dong-Eui-Bo-Kam is a medical book of Korean traditional medicine, which is of encyclopedic characteristics. Its contents imply almost every field of medicine. There are also descriptions of human parasites in this book under the title of 'Worms'. Worms described in the book are Sam-Shi-Choong, Ku-Choong(nine worms) the Oh-Jang-Choong(worms of five oragns). Among these Sam-Shi-Choong are not real worms, but quite mythological ones which have been mentioned in the religious Taoism. It is well-known that Dong-Eui-Bo-Kam has Taoistic characteristic. We can verify this characteristics by the fact that it mentions Sam-Shi-Choong on the top of the title 'Worms'. Dominant pathologic theory in the traditional medicine is a kind of balance theory, which defines the healthy state as the harmonious equilibrium of body elements. On the contrary parasitic diseases suppose real agents as the causes of diseases. This point of view appears to be quite different from traditional pathologic view.