History of ancient medicine

The Anatomy of Melancholy (Full title The Anatomy of Melancholy, What it is: With all the Kinds, Causes, Symptomes, Prognostickes, and Several Cures of it. In Three Maine Partitions with their several Sections, Members, and Subsections. Philosophically, Historically, Opened and Cut up.) by Robert Burton appeared in 1621. ...more on Wikipedia about "Anatomy of Melancholy"

Ancient Egyptian medicine refers to the common medical practices of ancient Egypt in the period circa 3300 BC until the Persian invasion of 525 BC. The ancient Egyptians had highly advanced medical practices for their time, including surgery, setting of bones and an extensive set of Pharmacopoeia. While their remedies were sometimes characterized by magical incantations and dubious ingredients, they often had a rational basis. Medical texts specified specific steps of examination, diagnosis, prognosis and treatments that were often rational and appropriate. ...more on Wikipedia about "Ancient Egyptian medicine"

Aretaeus ('Αρεταιος), one of the most celebrated of the ancient Greek physicians, of whose life, however, no particulars are known. There is some uncertainty respecting both his age and country; but it seems probable that he practised in the first century after Christ, in the reign of Nero or Vespasian, and he is generally styled "the Cappadocian" (Καππαδοξ). ...more on Wikipedia about "Aretaeus of Cappadocia"

Aulus Cornelius Celsus ( 25 BC— 50) was a Roman encyclopedist and possibly, although not likely, a physician. His only extant work, the De Medicina, is the only surviving section of a much larger encyclopedia, and is a primary source on diet, pharmacy and surgery and related fields. The lost portions of his encyclopedia likely included volumes on agriculture, law, rhetoric, and military arts. Celsus' De Medicina is one of the best sources on Alexandrian medical knowledge. He is also one of the precursors of human experimentation. ...more on Wikipedia about "Aulus Cornelius Celsus"

Bloodletting (or blood-letting, in modern medicine referred to as phlebotomy) was a popular medical practice from antiquity up to the late 19th century, involving the withdrawal of often considerable quantities of blood from a patient in the belief that this would cure or prevent illness and disease. The practice has been largely abandoned due to its proven ineffectiveness against all but a few conditions. ...more on Wikipedia about "Bloodletting"

The climacterics, in Greek philosophy and astrology, were said to be certain critical years in a person's life, marking turning points. The three principal climacteric years were multiples of 7: age 21, age 49, and age 63, the last of which is sometimes referred to as the Great Climacteric. The legacy of these climacteric years is still with us to some extent: the age of reason is often taken to be when a child reaches 7, and in many countries the age of majority, or of full adulthood, is taken as 21. ...more on Wikipedia about "Climacteric"

The Edwin Smith papyrus is the world's earliest known medical document, written around 1600 BC, but thought to be based on material from as early as 3000 BC. It is an ancient textbook on trauma surgery, and describes anatomical observations and the examination, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of numerous injuries in exquisite detail. The papyrus contains the first descriptions of the cranial sutures, the meninges, the external surface of the brain, the cerebrospinal fluid, and the intracranial pulsations. The surgical procedures given the Egyptian Edwin Smith papyrus were quite rational given the time period. As well as having a magical incantations against pestilence ** it also contains a prescription for a wrinkle remover using urea, which is still used in face creams today. ...more on Wikipedia about "Edwin Smith papyrus" It's my shortopedia! History_of_ancient_medicine

Erasistratus of Chios (330? BC - 250? BC) was a Greek anatomist. He worked as royal physician under Seleucus I Nicator and founded a school of anatomy in Alexandria along with Herophilos. He regarded atoms as the essential body elements, and they were vitalized by external air (pneuma) circulating through the nerves. He also thought that the nerves moved a "nervous spirit" from the brain, from which Erasistratus traced sensory and motor nerves. He also believed that the arteries moved an "animal spirit" from the heart by air provided by the lungs. He is best known for curing Antiochos, Seleucus's son. Erasistratus said that Antiochos was in love with his stepmother, and that that was what was ailing him, so he let them marry. ...more on Wikipedia about "Erasistratus"

Claudius Galenus of Pergamum ( 131- 201 AD), better known as Galen, was an ancient Greek physician. His views dominated European medicine for over a thousand years. ...more on Wikipedia about "Galen"

Herophilos, sometimes Latinized Herophilus (335-280 BC), was a Greek physician. He was born in Chalcedon in Asia Minor (now Kadiköy, Turkey). He is known as the first anatomist in history. Together with Erasistratus he is regarded as a founder of the great medical school of Alexandria. He was the first to base his conclusions on dissection of the human body. He studied the brain, recognizing it as the center of the nervous system and the site of intelligence. He also paid particular attention to the nervous system, distinguishing nerves from blood vessels and the motor from the sensory nerves. Other areas of his anatomical study include the eye, liver, pancreas, and the alimentary tract, as well as the salivary and genital organs. His works were lost but were much quoted by Galen in the 2nd century AD. ...more on Wikipedia about "Herophilos"

Hippocrates of Cos (c. 460 BC–c. 380 BC) was an ancient Greek physician. He has been called " the father of medicine", and is commonly regarded as one of the most outstanding figures in medicine of all time. According to the biographical tradition, he was a physician trained at the Dream temple of Cos, and may have been a pupil of Herodicus. Writings attributed to him (Corpus hippocraticum, or "Hippocratic writings") rejected the superstition and magic of primitive "medicine" and laid the foundations of medicine as a branch of science. Attributed sayings of Hippocrates include: "He who does not understand astrology is not a doctor, but a fool." , and, "There are in fact, two things: science, and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.". Little is actually known about Hippocrates's personal life, but some of his medical achievements were documented by such people as Plato and Aristotle. ...more on Wikipedia about "Hippocrates"

Jean Filliozat (*November, 4th 1906 in Paris, † 1982 in Paris) was a french author. He studied medicine and was a physician between 1930 and 1947. He learned Sanskrit, Pali, Tibetan and Tamil. He wrote some important works on the history of Indian medicine. ...more on Wikipedia about "Jean Filliozat"

This is an alphabetical list of writers from Ancient Greece and Rome who were doctors, or have left us material that contributes to our knowledge of ancient medicine. In some cases their names look familiar but are not the same as their famous homonyms (thus earning them an epithet). ...more on Wikipedia about "List of ancient doctors"

This an alphabetical List of ancient Romans. These include citizens of ancient Rome remembered in history for some reason. ...more on Wikipedia about "List of ancient Romans"

Pliny the Elder's Natural History is an encyclopedia written by Pliny the Elder. ...more on Wikipedia about "Natural History (Pliny)"

Paul of Aegina, also called Paulus Aegineta, (c. 625 in Aegina - c. 690) was a 7th century Greek physician best known for writing the medical encyclopedia Medical Compendium in Seven Books (in Greek Epitomes iatrikes biblio hepta). For many years in the Byzantine Empire, this work contained the sum of all Western medical knowledge and was unrivalled in its accuracy and completeness. The sixth book on surgery in particular was referenced in Europe and the Arab World throughout the Middle Ages and is of special interest for surgical history. The whole work in the original Greek was published at Venice in 1528, and another edition appeared at Basel in 1538. Several Latin translations have been published, while it was first translated in English, with commentary, by Dr. Francis Adams c. 1844- 48. ...more on Wikipedia about "Paul of Aegina"

Pedanius Dioscorides (c. 40 in Anazarbus, Cilicia - c. 90) was an ancient Greek physician, pharmacologist and botanist who practised in Rome at the times of Nero. He was a surgeon with the army of the emperor so he had the opportunity to travel extensively seeking medicinal substances from all over the Roman and Greek world. ...more on Wikipedia about "Pedanius Dioscorides"

The work, in which he appears under the name of Democritus Junior, was published in 1621, and had great popularity. In the words of Warton, "The author's variety of learning, his quotations from rare and curious books, his pedantry sparkling with rude wit and shapeless elegance ... have rendered it a repertory of amusement and information." It has also proved a store-house from which later authors have not scrupled to draw without acknowledgment. It was a favourite book of Dr. Johnson. Burton was a mathematician and dabbled in astrology. When not under depression he was an amusing companion, "very merry, facete, and juvenile," and a person of "great honesty, plain dealing, and charity." ...more on Wikipedia about "Robert Burton (scholar)"

Sextus Empiricus (writing some time in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD), was a physician and philosopher, and probably lived in Alexandria and Athens. Many of his sceptic arguments bear resemblance to the arguments used by the 1st century CE philosopher Nagarjuna. ...more on Wikipedia about "Sextus Empiricus"

Terra sigillata (or "sealed earth") is a name for two distinct items in antiquity. First, it is one term by which Samian ware was known. Secondly, it was a term for a medicinal soil from the island of Lemnos. ...more on Wikipedia about "Terra sigillata"

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