Ancient Greece/Ancient Roman medicine

By: Johnny Biondo and Shekinah Hollingsworth

Key people Arcagathus was the first doctor to come to

ancient Rome. He was an excellent wound surgeon, but he used the knife and cautery very vigorously, earning the name “executioner”.

Hippocrates conducted studies on order to prove that disease was a natural cause, and to show that a physician was there to help the body’s natural resistance against disease.

The Iatros were a group of Greek physicians who brought the Greek medical philosophies to Rome.

Tools The Romans used many surgical tools

made from bronze, some include probes, vaginal spectrum, and the rectal spectrum.

They also had the basic surgical tools such as scalpels and forceps.

Medical Techniques-Remedies Herbal remedies were very common for

treating minor ailments such as nausea, joint pain, and upset stomach.

They would often times rely on religious rituals to heal the sickly.

They would submerge their medical tools in boiling water to sterilize them.

Opium was used to treat basic pain. They would drain one of the humors believed

to be an excess to help cure the disease.

Cultural Factors Influencing Medical Philosophies Religious rituals were heavily influenced

on medical practices. Certain herbs were more medically

beneficial than others. Some Greeks believed that diseases in

specific people were the will of the Gods.

Key Philosophies Very ritualistic. Dogmatists were the first to emphasize the study of anatomy. Empiricists rejected the idea that a physician could detect the

unknown functional origins of the body. Methodists rejected all generalities in medical science, they

believed that each individual had a different case. Pneumatists were an offshoot of the Dogmatists and they

believed that the (Pneuma) soul was primary in the source of life.

They believed “The Four Humors” which were blood, mucus, black bile, and yellow bile, when these substances were imbalanced, disease occurred.

Health Problems In The Era Food contamination was an

overwhelming problem in Rome, so intestinal parasites were most common.

Lots of sanitation issues regarding the disposal of human waste.

Diseases such as tuberculosis, typhoid fever, and malaria were very common in Rome.

Preventative Methods The Romans had bath houses, which

they believed to help keep them clean, but in reality it help spread diseases.

They would pray to the Gods to keep good health.

THE END!