ἀνθρώποισι πᾶσι μέτεστι γινώσκειν ἑωυτοὺς καὶ σωφρονεῖν.
Trepanation, a neurosurgical procedure in which a hole is drilled through the skull up to the dura mater, is one of the world’s earliest practiced surgical procedures. Continue reading “Medicine in Ancient India; the very interesting case of Susruta”
During a systematic search of the literature for ancient descriptions of fear of heights and seasickness in the Chinese Medical Classics and Greek antiquity, two reports of vertigo syndromes that strikingly resemble today’s definitions of vestibular migraine (VM) and Menière’s disease (MD) were discovered. Continue reading “Vestibular migraine (VM) and Menière’s disease (MD) in the writings of Aretaeus of Cappadocia and in the Chinese book Huangdi Neijing”
During antiquity, ancient Greek physicians tried to explain cancer in a logical way. In 5th century BC, Hippocrates (460-377 BC) provided to science a rational and systemic basis. One of the most interesting and influential legacies of the Hippocratic approach was the humoral theory of diseases. Continue reading “Uterine cancer in the writings of ancient Greek & Roman physicians”
The “Iliad” and “Odyssey” of Homer are the foundation stones of classical Greek literature. Homer was read, memorized and quoted throughout the great age of ancient Greece, and was regarded as the poet who surpassed all others. The Iliad and the Odyssey comprise two of the most important works of classical Greek literature. Continue reading “Thoracic injuries in Homer’s Iliad”
This review emphasizes the role of Paul of Aegina in the history of surgery and his influence on the subsequent medicine and surgery of Islam, proving that he was not only a carrier of the knowledge discovered by his predecessors (Hippocrates, Galen, etc.), but also he expanded the horizons of surgery of his time, using his talent to perform very complicated surgery with favorite outcomes in a variety of diseases in many fields of medicine. Continue reading “Paul of Aegina; the first routine laminectomy in recorded History”
Many Byzantine doctors, who had been influenced by the authors of ancient Greece, have considered rheumatic diseases in their works. Continue reading “Τreatment of rheumatic diseases in the Eastern Roman (‘Byzantine’) Empire”
Novo Scriptorium 