Medicine in

ancient Rome

Written by: Verónica Rodríguez

Hippocrates was one of the most influential physicians of the ancient world

Ancient roman

doctors and

medicine

The doctors in ancient Rome were not as good as the ones in Greece. The profession was considered a low social position, fit for slaves and mainly Greeks. Most of the doctors were self-taught or educated by practitioners with no real knowledge of medicine. Cornelius Celsus performed neurosurgery on depressed skull fractures, which no other physician did before him. He was also known as the writer of medical history. Galen, the most famous doctor of Rome, contributed to medicine. He wrote books of the human anatomy, and he was the one to start taking the person’s pulse.

Surgical

instruments

Vaginal speculum: priapiscus with 2, 3 or 4 dovelating valves which are opened and closed by a handle with a screw mechanism, an invention that wasn’t used in Europe until the 18th century.

Bone levers: these instruments were used for levering fractured bones into position and may have been used for levering out teeth.

Bone forceps: instrument used to remove pieces of the fetal skull. The fractured bone was removed in fragments with the fingers if possible, if not, with a bone forceps.

Cupping vessels for bloodletting: the larger cupping vessel would have been used for the largest area in the body, such as the back or thighs. The smaller vessel would have been applied to the arms.

Tubes to prevent contractions and adhesions: after operations on the nose, rectum, vagina, etc., it was usual to insert a tube of lead or bronze to prevent contraction or adhesion and also to give medicaments. Tile cautery: the cautery was used for almost every possible purpose: as a "counter-irritant", as a haemostatic, as a bloodless knife, as a means of destroying tumors, etc.

Portable probe case: this cylindrical case was used to store and protect the thin probes and curettes and it was used by physicians. Hippocrates mentions a portable equipment case for use on house calls. Uvula forceps: the amputation of the uvula is made by first crushing it with forceps to prevent hemorrhage and then cutting it off.

Obstetrical hooks/sharp hooks: the blunt is used for dissecting and raising blood-vessels; the sharp for seizing and raising small pieces of tissue for excision and for fixing and retracting the edges of wounds. Probes/curettes: they were mainly used to mix, measure and apply medicaments.

Antiqua

medicina

In Greek literature, we can find many things about the folk medicine, like: In Homer’s Odyssey, where is mentioned the practice of singing incantations over wounds to stop the bleeding. In 1543 began the modern medicine when Andreas Vesalius published the first complete textbook of human anatomy. Hippocrates was the first to separate medicine from philosophy. The traditional treatment for injuries was the use of herbs and drugs, collected piece by piece through the ages, to cure everything. The Hippocratic Oath: it was the representation for medical etiquette and it is still used until today. In ancient times, it was not considered a violation to do what the Oath forbade.

Modern-day

medicine

Modern medicine is based upon things such as herbs and roots to treat sickness. Roman medicine practices required the boiling of all equipment to sterilize it before operating, as it’s done in today’s surgeries. Wounds were always washed first with an antiseptic, and this is also used by the doctors nowadays. The Caesarian operation was named after Julius Caesar, who was born through a caesarian operation. This kind of operation is also used to day for women who cannot give birth the natural way.