ἀνθρώποισι πᾶσι μέτεστι γινώσκειν ἑωυτοὺς καὶ σωφρονεῖν.
The roots of a rational approach to medicine, particularly to that of the objective observation by the bedside of the patient, are attributed to Hippocrates, a member of a family of well-known physicians on the island of Kos. Continue reading “Urology in the hippocratic collection”
Tonsils present organs of the lymphoid apparatus that are strategically placed at the entrance of digestive and respiratory systems. Tonsillectomy as well as direct laryngoscopy were known procedures in ancient Greece since the Hippocratic era. Continue reading “Paul of Aegina’s Innovative Tonsillectomy (7th century AD)”
Uterine cancer had been known since antiquity. The earliest documentation, even tenuous in the extreme, comes from the ancient Egyptian Kahun papyrus (c. 2000 BC). A small passage from another Egyptian papyrus, the Ebers, written in 1500 BC, that was mentioning: “woman gnawed in her uterus and in the vagina where ulcers develop” led some authors to conclude that the disease described was uterine cancer. Continue reading “The first accurate description of uterine carcinoma by Aretaeus of Cappadocia”
The habit of compilation established by the later Greek and Roman writers remained a set custom in Eastern and Western Europe even beyond the Renaissance period. Continue reading “Paul of Aegina; one of the most influential surgeons of all time”
The first clear and complete description of diabetes was made by Aretaeus of Cappadocia, a famous physician of the late Hellenistic period. His analysis of diabetes represents, in fact, the only extensive text of Greek medical literature in existence. Continue reading “The first description of diabetes by Aretaeus of Cappadocia”
Asthma is derived from the Greek verb aazein, meaning shortdrawn breath or panting. Continue reading “The first clinical description of asthma by Aretaeus of Cappadocia (1st century A.D.)”
Novo Scriptorium 