The Transformation of Medical and Health Discourse in Iran from the Constitutional to the End of the First Pahlavi

This has considered the discourse of Iranian medical process from the traditional to the modern situation since the constitutional period until the end of the first Pahlavi era. The purpose of this study is to examine the evolution of traditional medical science into modern one and its shortages due to the disintegration of these two discourses, on the other hand this study shows the importance of preserving the health of societies throughout their history. This study focuses on the general health status of Iranians in the constitutional and Pahlavi era. This phenomenon in the social history of Iran, especially in the field of community medicine, was not favorable according to this research. But gradually, with the paying attention of the governments, especially during the First Pahlavi era, the trend of medical science and community health towards modern discourse occurred.

Explanationn of the steps of the transformation of traditional medical discourse to the modern one is the main aim of this study. The method of this research is descriptive-analytical relying on the library resources, archival documents also medical press in this part of the history of Iran. Ethical Considerations: In referring to texts and research, honesty and trustworthiness also citing to the sources and publications have been respected.

The importance of this research is to examin the historical transition in medical science and its results in Iran. In fact, the severity of the diseases, especially the infectious diseases, was so widespread throughout the country that it made the rulers and intellectuals more awareness. Regarding this issue although laws were enacted during the constitutional period, but they did not exuted at all.

With the begining of the first Pahlavi era, there was an increasing trend in health and major developments in medical science occured. But as a result of this evolution, the inconsistency between the two traditional and modern discourses actually it resulted in the elimination of one and the boom of the other. The discourse of modern medical science reached its climax, relying on the locus of disease and the body, but abandon the traditional medicine had many unexeptable consequence in the later periods.