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The name Osteopathy was chosen by its founder, Dr. A.T. Still (1828-1917), to define the profession. Many people associate the word osteopathy with the treatment of bones, possibly due to the literal definition, which is Greek for (osteon) bone and (pathos) the study of. In osteopathic terms this definition relates more to the structural frame of the body, the skeleton.
Dr. Still was swimming against the scientific tide when in the 19th century he pronounced the holistic view that 'the body is a unit'. By this he meant that each tiny part of the body and in turn each of its systems, is intimately connected to every other system. When the function of any part of the body is less than 100 per cent, the rest of the body is affected in some way or another. His view of the body made a stark contrast to the way in which established medical science was concentrating on particular diseases and treating the symptoms that they manifested. Patients who went to a doctor with a cough were viewed as a mere pair of lungs and a windpipe, and patients with a duodenal ulcer were seen as a digestive tract. To Dr Still it was however vitally important to remember the fundamental principle that no matter what part of the body showed signs of illness or injury, every other part of the body was also affected.
He created Osteopathy through a desire to develop a systematic method of treatment that eliminates guesswork and brings health without disease. He believed in natural immunity, and the body's ability to heal itself. Dr Still broke from allopathic medicine to begin his new method of healing and started the School of Osteopathy in Missouri, USA in 1892, from which the first class graduated in 1893.
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