I have a copy of the Sajous's Cyclopedia of Medicine, circa 1910, and
there is plenty of interesting information, such as the use of selenium
to treat breast cancer recurrence.  However, they were not treating the
same kinds of conditions, because today "inflammation" and "chronic
diseases" are the big issue, and on the molecular level, this should be
called arachidonic acid overload.  100 years ago, there were very
different issues, such as extreme vitamin/mineral deficiencies, very
limited diets, consumption of rancid meat and dairy, etc.  People also
would not go to see a doctor until a condition became severe, which is
much less common today.