Photomedicine: Potentials for Lasers. An Overview

Abstract

Photomedicine is one of the oldest and newest interests of man. Belief in the health-giving properties of sunlight grew out of sun worship, augmented by an increasing awareness that all life on earth ultimately owes its existence to the sun. Since ancient time, heliotherapy has been prescribed for a wide variety of illnesses. Before the introduction of specific chemotherapy, it was the mainstay of treatment for tuberculosis and other chronic illnesses. In the nineteenth century, a scientific rationale for such treatment arose with the discovery that microorganisms in vitro could be killed by ultraviolet radiation. The 1903 Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded to Finsen for his work demonstrating beneficial aspects of ultraviolet radiation of cutaneous tuberculosis. Sunlight and artificial ultraviolet sources were found to be useful in prevention and treatment of rickets. With most of these human ailments, specific chemotherapy has replaced the use of phototherapy. However, UV lamps are installed routinely in Siberian schools to prevent rickets, and UV radiation is used to maintain sterility in operating rooms.