MEDICINE THROUGH TIME PART 1 - ANCIENT MEDICINE

HISTORY REVISION NOTES

                ANCIENT MEDICINE

                Roman civilisation

·         The importance of WAR for Roman Medicine:

1) Healthy Roman Empire = Healthy Romans (PUBLIC HEALTH)

2) Captured Greek slaves brought Greek doctors to Rome.

3) Roman Empire developed some of the first hospitals.

4) Wounded soldiers = anatomical/surgical skills developed by army doctors.

Roman knowledge about the body and disease

·         Roman doctors learnt a lot of their skills from dealing with gladiators in the amphitheatres.

·         Human dissection forbidden = Allowed to dissect hanged criminals and washed up bodies from cemeteries.

·         However Galen and others relied on animal dissection = various errors in anatomy.

·         Galen had good knowledge of bone structure; studies the lungs, muscles, heart, blood and nervous system.

·         Galen wrote about 350 books.

·         Dramatic dissection of pig led to discovery that brain NOT heart controlled the body.

·         Romans accepted the ‘Theory of the Four Humours’ but rejected Greek ideas and discontinued investigation into disease, therefore Roman knowledge of disease did not progress.

·         Roman Ideas about disease:

1) Stars, planets and astrology.

2) Poisonous swamp vapours.

3) Tiny creatures too small to see.

4) INBALANCE IN THE FOUR HUMOURS!

·         Galen’s mistakes:

1) Muscles were attached to bones (they aren’t; he dissected a dog)

2) Blood flowed through invisible holes in the septum. (There are not invisible hole in the septum)

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