Medicine In Ancient Rome !

Medicine In Ancient Rome !

The ancient Romans, like the Ancient Greeks and Ancient Egyptians, made an impute into Medicine and Health, though their impute was mainly concerned with public health schemes. Though the Roman “discoveries” may not have been in the field of pure medicine, poor hygiene by people was a constant source of disease, so any improvement in public health was to have a major impact on society. . .

In the early years of the Roman Empire there were no people in what would be a separate medical profession. It was believed that each head of the household knew enough about herbal cures and medicine to treat illnesses in his household. As the Roman Empire expanded into Greece, many doctors came to Italy and Rome. Some of these were prisoners of war and could be bought by wealthy Romans to work in a household.

Many of these doctors became valuable additions to a household. It is known that a number of these men bought their own freedom and practises in Rome itself. After 200BC, more Greek Doctors came to Rome but their success at the expense of Romans did generate some mistrust.

Public H e a l th

The Romans were great believers in a healthy mind equalling a healthy body. There was a belief that if you kept fit, you would be more able to combat an illness. Rather than spend money on a doctor, many Romans spent money on keeping fit.

“A Person should put aside some part of the day for the care of his body. He should always make sure that he gets enough exercise especially before a meal.”

Something you should know ; Hippocrates is largely recognised as the father of modern medicine, as he created the concept of medicine in a separate scientific field away from a philosophical and mythic approach. The modern Hippocratic Oath stems directly from Hippocrates and continues to be the binding ethical law guiding all those in the field of medicine.

Religion

The Romans expanded on Hippocrates scientific methods by combining it with the religious and mythological ceremony of the day. Adding to this, the Romans included prayers, offerings and sacrificing to the gods in hopes for greater success. Many of the Roman gods were believed to have powers but one in particular played a prominent role in ancient medicine. Aesculapius, the god of healing, was the prominent diety that governed the Roman medical practise and his symbolic snake entwined staff continues to be used as a symbol of the medical field today.

Galen

Galen, a prominent physician in the ancient world, worked diligently to expand medical knowledge. Moving away from the mythical approach, he pursued Hippocrates’ methods of observation and research. He dissected, studying the workings of human anatomy, and experimented with many procedures in order to find workable solutions to medical issues. Doing this, he was able to record his findings and everything he did in a series of books that are widely used by Doctors today.

Hippocrates discovered many things. Although none of them were true, they helped the Romans and many Doctors developed. He also discovered the Four Humours. This was built up on his knowledge from the Ancient Egyptians about how sickness was caused. The Egyptians, like the Pre-Historians, believed that all Illness was caused by gods and evil spirits. They also believed that wearing a certain chain would protect you form illness. None of the cures they developed helped except for things such as making medicine through plants and herbs which made them successful.

Hippocrates denied the Egyptian’s ideas on gods causing illness. He said that if you had too much of a Bile from the Four Humours, then you were ill. He also encouraged exercise daily and one other thing he said everyone should do was to Purge themselves for a number of days. This helped make or bodies healthier and it cleansed us by eating fruits and drinking water.

Back in those days, even if some of the ideas he had were wrong, no one would dare correct him. He also studied Human Anatomy and has written many books that Doctors use today. This was built on from the Egyptians as they began Dissecting dead bodies during mummification.

The other thing that Hippocrates brought into Medicine was the Hippocratic Oath that we still use today. It basically makes the Doctors promise that they will not, under all circumstances, mistreat their patients.

He also brought in clinical Observation that still exists today. This was also built on from the Egyptians. When a person is ill and is taken into hospital, Doctors make sure that they observe the patient such as noting down their symptoms at the bottom of the bed. They also note down what time their last medication was and when the next is due.

Imagine not having the life we have today and instead, living how they lived in the Pre-Historian days when you could die from simple symptoms such as a cold.

Thanks to Hippocrates …. We have better Medical Treatments today

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Thokozile