Classical & Roman Medicine Flashcards
1
Q
Imhotep
A
- Ancestor of modern physicians
- Deified in later Dynasties
2
Q
Georg Ebers papyrus
A
- Oldest, most important surviving “medical text”
- Therapeutics demonstrate preeminence of magical healing
- A dozen or more other medical papyri exist
3
Q
Mycenean Era (Greek)
A
- Greeks traded with Egypt, knew their therapies
- Egypt also traded with and influenced by Indian and Chinese
- Exposed to various systems of medicine
4
Q
Asclepius
A
- Son of Apollo
- “blameless physician” of The Iliad
- Became god of a healing cult
5
Q
iatroi
A
- ‘Healers’ were mostly part-time
- No rules for healing practices
6
Q
Asclepiads
A
- Claimed ancestry to Asclepius
- Educated others in healing
- Hippocrates born into an asclepiad of Cos
7
Q
Asclepions
A
- sites of priest-healing
- votives (small effigies of affected part)
- abatons (private areas for pilgrims)
8
Q
Epiduouros
A
- most celebrated asclepion in antiquity
9
Q
Empedocles
A
- postulated all things composed of water, earth, air, and fire (WEAF)
10
Q
Alcmaeon
A
- suggested that health was equilibrium between body “humors”
- first human dissection, described optic nerve
11
Q
Hippocrates
A
- “Father of Medicine” in western tradition
- Corpus Hippocraticum established medicine as art, science, and profession
- Primum non nocere was his primary tenet
12
Q
Corpus Hippocraticum
A
- 60-70 essays by several authors
- Foundation of Western medicine
- rejects the idea that gods cause disease
- “expectative therapy”
- stresses observation over theory
- externals, not internal anatomy
- compared body (microcosm) to the external world (macrocosm)
13
Q
Hippocratic Medicine
A
- Equilibrium is health
- Empedoclean elements (macrocosm)
- Four humors (microcosm)
- Regimen
- Diagnosis
- Prognosis
- Expectative therapy
14
Q
Four Humors
A
- Yellow bile (summer dysentery, vomiting)
- Black bile (autumn, dying)
- Phlegm (winter colds)
- Blood (spring, life, menstruation)
15
Q
Hellenistic Medicine
A
- Alexandria , founded by Ptolemy
- Library and museum became world centers of learning for a millenium
16
Q
Herophilus
A
- Greek founder of Alexandrian medical school (along with Erasistratus)
- Quoted by Galen
- Dissected human cadavers (named internal organs, duodenum/prostate, brain/nerves)
- Nerves from brain caused motion
- Arteries contained blood
- First to study pulse systemically
17
Q
Erasistratus
A
- Co-founder of Alexandria medical school with Herophilus
- Body a machine
- Human cadavers (heart valves, sensory/motor nerves)
- Brain was seat of intelligence, heart was a pump
- Denied teleology
18
Q
Social Aspects
A
- Wealthy, slaves, and soldiers were most likely to receive care from physicians
- Medici: physician (Latin)
- No hospitals (valetudinaria)
19
Q
Galen of Pergamum
A
- Most influential of the “ancients”
- Physician to gladiators, emperors
- Public anatomical dissections
- 350 titles on medicine, got much wrong
- Transformed medicine with science
20
Q
Galenism
A
- Galen had discovered everything in anatomy and physiology
- Made many anatomical mistakes, i.e. 5 lobed liver
- Dissected mammals, not humans
21
Q
Valetudinaria
A
- Army, wealthy estates had them (clinic/hospital)
