Paradigm Shift in MedicineYasmin Al-Modhwahi

Definition of Paradigm

The model constructed by our unconscious and conscious mind which we use to understand and explain the world.

Removal of Tonsils

Before: If infections of the tonsils became a problem (i.e. continuous tonsillitis), tonsillectomies was performed.

Now: Relatively low rate due to continuing medical debate about the benefit of the operation.

Transmission of Leprosy

BEFORE: • Disease was transmitted by contact between cases of leprosy and

healthy persons. • Isolation policy.

Now• Causes unknown, but not due to touch.

Why Paradigm Shifts?

“Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.”—Albert Szent Gyorgyi, 1937 Nobel Laureate in Physiology and Medicine