Hua Tuo, a Miraculous Healer in Ancient China
 
Hua Tuo (145 – 208 AD), courtesy name Yuanhua, was from Peiguojiao County, known today as Hao County, Anhui Province. He was such an outstanding doctor in ancient China that he was known as a "miraculous healer." Hua Tuo did not yearn for fame or money. Instead, he was completely devoted to studying medicine. He was highly accomplished in various fields of medicine, a fact which reflected the high level of medical knowledge during the 2nd century of China.
 
Hua Tuo appeared to be very smart from an early age. He lost his father at the age of seven. Because the family was poor, his mother sent him to study medicine with Dr. Cai, a very close friend of Hua Tuo's father. Hua Tuo went to town and met with Dr. Cai. After he expressed his wish to become a doctor, Dr. Cai thought to himself, "Hua Tuo's father was my friend. If I don't take the boy as my disciple, the townspeople will think of me as one of those people who 'cuts off the relationship with the family after a friend passes away and treats friends with no loyalty.' I'd better take him as my disciple. However, I need to test the boy to determine if he is cut out for medicine."
 
At that moment, Dr. Cai noticed that several of his disciples were collecting mulberry leaves in the yard, but they were having difficulty reaching the leaves on the highest branch and they weren’t able to climb the tree. He decided that this would be the first test for Hua Tuo. He asked Hua Tuo, "Can you think of a way to collect the leaves on the highest branch of the tree?" Hua Tuo said with confidence, "That is easy." Hua Tuo asked for a piece of rope and tied a small rock at the end of the rope. He threw the rope over the highest branch and collected all the leaves on the branch, which was now bent from the weight of the rock.
 
Next, Dr. Cai saw two goats fighting, their eyes red with rage. No one could separate the goats. He decided that this would be the second test for Hua Tuo. He said, "Hua Tuo, are you able to separate these two goats?" Hua Tuo answered right away, "Certainly." He fetched two handfuls of grass and put one next to each goat. The goats had gotten hungry from fighting, so they were quick to turn their attention to enjoying the grass. The fight was stopped effortlessly. Much impressed with Hua Tuo's intelligence, Dr. Cai readily took him as a disciple.
 
Hua Tuo studied diligently. He valued actual clinical practice and eventually became a legendary doctor in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 – 220 AD). Even after he gained a famed reputation, Hua Tuo was never partial to any patient. He would provide his services wherever he went. He displayed a noble spirit by focusing on curing diseases and saving lives. He practiced medicine all his life. He developed innovative medical theories and excellent medical techniques in various medical fields, including external medicine, internal medicine, gynecology, acupuncture, parasitology, and physical therapy as medical treatment. He was an outstanding medical expert in ancient China. Hua Tuo was especially good at performing surgery. In fact, he was the first doctor to perform a colostomy in Chinese medical history. In order to reduce the pain of surgery for patients, he invented a drug, Ma Fei San, which was used to provide general anesthesia. It was not until 1,600 years later that Europeans began to use general anesthesia in surgery, at the beginning of the 19th century.
 
Hua Tuo once saw a person pushing a cart on the street. The person had a brownish-yellow complexion. He was short of breath and looked very ill. Hua Tuo approached him to find out that he had colic in his stomach. Hua Tuo quickly diagnosed him with intestinal carbuncle (appendicitis), which required immediate surgery. Hua Tuo had the person drink Ma Fei San and was soon anesthetized. Hua Tuo cut the person's abdomen open, removed the infected part of his intestine, cleansed his insides, sealed the wound with stitches, and finally applied ointment that would diminish inflammation and expedite the growth of tissue. The patient recovered in a few days, and his surgical wound healed very quickly. The story proved the clinical effect of Ma Fu San, as well as Hua Tuo's understanding of anatomy.
 
Hua Tuo also proved to be an excellent obstetrician. The Book of Late Han recorded a complex medical case that Hua Tuo treated successfully. General Li’s wife had an illness and he asked Hua Tuo to treat her. After taking the woman's pulse, Hua Tuo declared that the cause of her illness was that she had injured herself during pregnancy and had failed to deliver the fetus as a result. General Li confirmed the pregnancy but informed Hua Tuo that his wife had already given birth to a stillborn baby. Hua Tuo replied, "Her pulse disagrees. It appears that she still has a fetus in her." General Li hesitated to believe Hua Tuo's diagnosis, so Hua Tuo could not provide any treatment at the time. A hundred days later, Li's wife became worse. Hua Tuo was again invited to provide treatment for her. Upon examining her pulse, Hua Tuo said, "Her pulse is the same as my last visit. This is what I think happened. She carried twins. The first fetus was stillborn and caused the mother to bleed excessively, so the second fetus was not expelled. The fetus has died in her. It has withered and became attached to a place near her spine." In order to remove the fetus, Hua Tuo tried to induce labor. First, he used acupuncture on Li's wife and prescribed herbal medicine. Before long, she started to enter labor, but she still couldn't deliver the fetus. Hua Tuo explained that it was difficult to deliver a withered fetus naturally. The fetus would have to be taken out by hand. He gave instructions to a woman in General Li's house, who indeed removed a withered fetus from General Li's wife.
 
In addition, Hua Tuo made innovative discoveries in the field of acupuncture. Once a patient sought treatment from Hua Tuo because he had problems with his feet and couldn't walk. After checking the pulse, Hua Tuo marked several acupuncture points on his back and applied moxibustion seven times on each spot. The patient began to walk quickly after the treatment. Based on his own experience in acupuncture, Hua Tuo discovered the "Jia Ji Acupuncture Point," an acupuncture point that nips the spine. Today the acupuncture point in this area is still referred to as the "Hua Tuo Point."
 
Hua Tuo also invented a set of exercises called "Exercises of the Five Animals," which imitated the movements of five kinds of animals, including the tiger, the deer, the bear, the monkey, and the birds. The exercises became very popular in his time. One of Hua Tuo's students, Wu Pu, continued to practice the Exercises of the Five Animals on a regular basis. Even in his 90s, Wu Pu remained very strong and healthy with sharp ears, eyes, and good teeth.
 
Hua Tuo is a major figure in Chinese medical history for his excellent medical techniques, as well as his spirit of saving and helping people.
 
古代神医华佗
 
华佗，字符化，沛国谯（今安徽毫县）人，中国古代杰出的医学家，被称为“神医”。华佗不慕爵禄，潜心研究学习医药，所以在许多方面都取得了突出的成就，反映了中国公元2世纪的医学水平。
 
华佗从小就很机敏。传说他7岁死了父亲，家中贫困，母亲让他去求父亲生前好友蔡医生学医。华佗到城里见了蔡医生，说明了来意。蔡医生心里想：华佗父亲是我的好朋友，若不答应，乡邻会骂我，“人死绝交, 对友不义”，答应吧，还不知他是不是块学医的材料，最好考考他。蔡医生见几个徒弟正在院子里采桑叶，最高的枝条够不着，也爬不上去, 便向华佗说：“你能想法把这最高的枝条上的桑叶采下来吗?”华佗说：“这还不容易!”于是，他叫人取了根绳子, 拴块小石头，只一抛，绳子抛过枝条，树枝被压下来，就把桑叶采到手里。蔡医生又看见两只羊斗架，眼都斗红了，谁也拉不开，就又说：“华佗，你能把这两只羊拉开吗?”华佗马上说：“这好办。”只见他抓来两把鲜草，放在羊的两侧，斗架的羊早饿了，看见身边的鲜草，忙抢着吃，就自然散开不斗了。蔡医生见华佗如此聪明，就收他为徒。
 
后来他刻苦学习，注重实践，成为东汉名医。成名后的华佗为人治病不分对象，不论场所，这也反映了他专以治病救人为己任的高尚情操。他一生行医，对外科、内科、妇科、针灸、寄生虫病和医疗体育保健等方面，都有独到的见解和精湛的医术，是中国古代一位杰出的医学家。他擅长外科手术，是中国医学史上第一个施行剖腹手术的外科医生。为了减轻病人的痛苦，他发明了一种能全身麻醉的药物即麻沸散。而欧美使用全身麻醉术是十九世纪初的事，比中国迟了一千六百多年。
 
有一次，华佗看见一个面色焦黄、呼吸紧促、病势很重的推车人，一问，才知他腹内绞痛。华佗断定这人得的是肠痈（即阑尾炎）。于是华佗让病人喝了麻沸散，很快就麻醉过去。他用刀子切开腹部，割去肠子溃烂部份，洗涤内部，然后缝和起来，又涂上消炎生肌的药膏。过了几天，病人的伤口很快就愈合了。
 
在妇科方面他也有很深的研究。在后汉书中记载：李将军的妻子有病，请华佗诊治。华佗经过诊脉后说，是由于怀孕期间身体受伤而胎儿未掉造成的病。李将军说，孕期确实受过伤，但胎儿已经坠落。华佗说，依脉相看，胎儿并没有坠落。李将军不以为然。过了一百天后，李妻病势转重，再次请华佗看病。诊脉后，华佗说，脉相如前，原是双胎先流产的使母体流血过多，后一个不能产出。现在这胎儿已死，燥缩附在母脊背上。于是华佗先给李妻扎针，然后进汤药。一会，妇人觉得要产但又不下。华佗说，这是死胎枯萎，不能自生，必须由人探取。他告诉一妇人探取之法，果然得出死胎。
 
在针灸方面，华佗也有创新。有一次，一个患有脚病而不能行走的病人，请华佗诊治。华佗切脉后，便在他脊背上点了几个穴位，每个穴位灸七壮，这个病人很快就能行走了。华佗总结了自己针灸的经验，创造并运用了“夹脊穴”，即夹着脊椎骨的穴位，后人把这个部位的穴位叫做“华佗穴”，一直沿用至今。
 
华佗还模仿虎、鹿、熊、猿、鸟五种禽兽的动作，创造一套名叫“五禽戏”的体操，很受人们欢迎。弟子吴普按照老师教的五禽戏经常进行锻练，活到九十多岁时，还是耳聪目明，牙齿完好，身体很健壮。

华佗凭着他的高超医术和他救死扶伤的精神，在中国医学史上占有重要的地位。