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Roman Medicine

400 BC–AD 500

The History of Medicine

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Greek and Roman empires

By 200 BC the Greek Empire was in decline and the

Roman Empire was growing.

However, there was a

significant period of overlap

between the two empires, and

much knowledge and

understanding was shared

between the two.

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Growth of the Roman Empire

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By the 2nd century AD, the Romans controlled much of

Western Europe. To control this huge empire, Rome used

a vast, highly-trained army.

Each Roman fort had a bath house, toilets, fresh water

supplies and a hospital. The Romans emphasized

hygiene, together with exercise and diet, to help keep their

soldiers fit.

What did the Romans do for us?

The Romans knew that to

keep this army effective and

able to take over new lands

and defend existing territory,

its soldiers needed to be well

cared for.

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Roman public health

Public health is the measures taken by a government to

look after the health of its people.

Today we expect to have a toilet and a bath in

our homes, to have a ready supply of running

water and to have sewage taken away. These

services are part of public health.

Although the Egyptians and Greeks promoted hygienic

lifestyles, the Romans had a system of public health on a

scale not seen before.

Can you think of reasons why the Romans

emphasized public health?

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This process led to a developed system of public health,

which included:

The Romans were able to make the link between hygiene

and disease. They made this link by observing what

seemed to cause ill health, and then taking preventative

methods against the causes of illness.

Why did the Romans improve public health?

The location of villas and

other buildings were

carefully planned: Marcus

Varro wrote "…place it at the

foot of a wooded hill where it

is exposed to health-giving

winds…”

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Aqueducts were built to transport

fresh water, such as the Pont du Gard

in France.

Public bathhouses were built

which charged minimal

entrance fees.

Remains of the Roman baths at Bath.

Communal public toilets were built in all towns.

What would have been the effects of these public

health systems?

Efficient drainage systems carried away sewage and

waste water.

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How did the Romans improve public health?

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Although there were developments in medicine and public

health, many people still relied on the gods for cures. This

was often their first step in treating disease.

Religious beliefs

People prayed to Salus,

the Roman goddess of

health, and the Greek

god of medicine,

Asclepius.

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Greek and Roman ideas compared

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Roman doctors

Anyone could practise as a doctor without training or any

regulation. Like the Greeks, however, many doctors were

keen to find out more and trained by working for

experienced doctors and/or by reading the Hippocratic

Collection of books.

Others travelled to Alexandria, the

capital of the medical world. Here,

libraries built by the Greeks contained

medical books and writings from Greece,

China, Egypt and India. Doctors went to

Alexandria to share ideas and to gain

new medical knowledge. It was also the

only place where they were allowed to

dissect a human body.

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Galen

Rome’s most famous doctor was Galen.

Worked in an Asclepeia in Greece;

Surgeon at gladiators’ school;

Doctor to the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius;

Teacher of doctors.

Name: Galen

AD 129 in Greece

Doctor

Studied medicine from age 17; Later studied in Alexandria.

Career highlights:

Education:

Occupation:

Born:

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Galen’s four methods and his importance

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The main reason that Galen is so important in the history

of medicine is that his methods and ideas were followed

for some 1,500 years. Throughout this time Galen’s

theories remained unquestioned throughout Europe.

Why do you think that doctors’ acceptance of

Galen’s ideas could be damaging to the progress of

medicine?

The problem with Galen

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