The Contribution of Alexandrian Physicians to Cardiology
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Lovesickness: Erasistratus Discovering the Cause of Antiochus
ART AND IMAGES IN PSYCHIATRY SECTION EDITOR: JAMES C. HARRIS, MD Lovesickness Erasistratus Discovering the Cause of Antiochus’ Disease When the erotic appetite provokes a melancholy brooding, fires the passions, burns the humors and wastes the strengths of the body, love “is not merely behavior resembling sickness, but it is a true disease, virulent, and dangerous.” Battista Fregoso (15th century).1(p3) ESPAIRING WHEN HIS SON the object of his love was unattainable. The terminology for lovesickness has Prince Antiochus was des- Antiochus’ love could never be grati- changed over time. Erotic melancholy perately ill, Seleucus, king fied because he was in love with Erasis- is not a subtype of mental disorder but of Syria, summoned the tratus’ very own wife. Seleucus quickly erotomania is. Erotomania is the delu- Ddistinguished Greek physician Erasistra- sought to persuade Erasistratus to give sional belief that another person, gen- tus (circa 330-255 BC) to diagnose his her up to save his son. The cagey phy- erally of higher social status, is in love malady. Erasistratus and his colleague sician replied “[t]hou art his father and with you. There are primary forms, pure Herophilis from Alexandria in Egypt were yet thou wouldst not have done so if An- erotomania, and secondary forms, part renowned for their medical treatments tiochus had set his affections on [your of a broader psychiatric category (for ex- that were based on their understanding wife] Stratonice´.”3(p95) With great emo- ample, schizophrenia or bipolar disor- of human anatomy and neuroanatomy, tion, the king said that, if heaven would der). -
The Ptolemies: an Unloved and Unknown Dynasty. Contributions to a Different Perspective and Approach
THE PTOLEMIES: AN UNLOVED AND UNKNOWN DYNASTY. CONTRIBUTIONS TO A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE AND APPROACH JOSÉ DAS CANDEIAS SALES Universidade Aberta. Centro de História (University of Lisbon). Abstract: The fifteen Ptolemies that sat on the throne of Egypt between 305 B.C. (the date of assumption of basileia by Ptolemy I) and 30 B.C. (death of Cleopatra VII) are in most cases little known and, even in its most recognised bibliography, their work has been somewhat overlooked, unappreciated. Although boisterous and sometimes unloved, with the tumultuous and dissolute lives, their unbridled and unrepressed ambitions, the intrigues, the betrayals, the fratricides and the crimes that the members of this dynasty encouraged and practiced, the Ptolemies changed the Egyptian life in some aspects and were responsible for the last Pharaonic monuments which were left us, some of them still considered true masterpieces of Egyptian greatness. The Ptolemaic Period was indeed a paradoxical moment in the History of ancient Egypt, as it was with a genetically foreign dynasty (traditions, language, religion and culture) that the country, with its capital in Alexandria, met a considerable economic prosperity, a significant political and military power and an intense intellectual activity, and finally became part of the world and Mediterranean culture. The fifteen Ptolemies that succeeded to the throne of Egypt between 305 B.C. (date of assumption of basileia by Ptolemy I) and 30 B.C. (death of Cleopatra VII), after Alexander’s death and the division of his empire, are, in most cases, very poorly understood by the public and even in the literature on the topic. -
The Evolution of Anatomy
science from its beginning and in all its branches so related as to weave the story into a continu- ous narrative has been sadly lacking. Singer states that in order to lessen the bulk of his work he has omitted references and bibliog- raphies from its pages, but we may readily recognize in reading it that he has gone to original sources for its contents and that all the statements it contains are authoritative and can readily be verified. In the Preface Singer indicates that we may hope to see the work continued to a later date than Harvey’s time and also that the present work may yet be expanded so as to contain material necessarily excluded from a book of the size into which this is compressed, because from cover to cover this volume is all meat and splendidly served for our delectation and digestion. Singer divides the history of Anatomy into four great epochs or stages. The first is from the Greek period to 50 b .c ., comprising the Hippocratic period, Aristotle and the Alexan- drians. Although, as Singer says, “our anatom- ical tradition, like that of every other depart- ment of rational investigation, goes back to the Greeks,” yet before their time men groped at some ideas as to anatomical structure, as evinced by the drawings found in the homes of the cave dwellers, and the Egyptians and the The Evo lut ion of Ana to my , a Short Histo ry of Anat omi cal an d Phys iolo gica l Disc ove ry , Mesopotamians had quite distinct conceptions to Harve y . -
240 Book Reviews Two. Knowledge Learned from Europeans Was Also Added to This Dynamic Mix. Besides Working As Independent Healer
240 Book Reviews two. Knowledge learned from Europeans was also added to this dynamic mix. Besides working as independent healers on single or multiple plantation complexes, plantation hospitals were also staffed by knowledgeable slaves who carried out the instructions of the formal plantation doctors. Such healers sometimes shared their knowledge, for a price. What comes to light in the yaws narrative is the importance of appreciating the identity and natural distribution of the plants used for a cure. If the chosen plants were indigenous to the Caribbean and not naturalised in Africa, the cure cannot have travelled across the Atlantic directly. However searching for similar plants with similar medicinal properties could still incorporate aspects of African medical knowledge. Knowledge could also have been shared between Amerindians of the Greater Antilles and slaves, or between Amerindians and early colonisers before they were overwhelmed by disease, killed or exiled to the Lesser Antilles. Knowledge could have passed to Europeans and back to slaves again. Schiebinger’s emphasis on the materiality of the plant cure is the key here: a point reinforced by negative attitudes to the spiritual realm of Obeah healing. The materiality of slave bodies was also important, particularly the question of whether knowledge generated by tests on a passive black body could be applied elsewhere, including back in Europe on a white population. Schiebinger teases out the circumstances in which there was interchangeability across the races and genders and how this changes with time. She broadens the discussion of oppressed bodies and their use in the Caribbean to include the white soldiers and sailors who were stationed there. -
Pliny's Poisoned Provinces
A DANGEROUS ART: GREEK PHYSICIANS AND MEDICAL RISK IN IMPERIAL ROME DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Molly Ayn Jones Lewis, B.A., M.A. ********* The Ohio State University May, 2009 Dissertation Committee: Duane W. Roller, Advisor Approved by Julia Nelson Hawkins __________________________________ Frank Coulson Advisor Greek and Latin Graduate Program Fritz Graf Copyright by Molly Ayn Jones Lewis 2009 ABSTRACT Recent scholarship of identity issues in Imperial Rome has focused on the complicated intersections of “Greek” and “Roman” identity, a perfect microcosm in which to examine the issue in the high-stakes world of medical practice where physicians from competing Greek-speaking traditions interacted with wealthy Roman patients. I argue that not only did Roman patients and politicians have a variety of methods at their disposal for neutralizing the perceived threat of foreign physicians, but that the foreign physicians also were given ways to mitigate the substantial dangers involved in treating the Roman elite. I approach the issue from three standpoints: the political rhetoric surrounding foreign medicines, the legislation in place to protect doctors and patients, and the ethical issues debated by physicians and laypeople alike. I show that Roman lawmakers, policy makers, and physicians had a variety of ways by which the physical, political, and financial dangers of foreign doctors and Roman patients posed to one another could be mitigated. The dissertation argues that despite barriers of xenophobia and ethnic identity, physicians practicing in Greek traditions were fairly well integrated into the cultural milieu of imperial Rome, and were accepted (if not always trusted) members of society. -
Title Page Echoes of the Salpinx: the Trumpet in Ancient Greek Culture
Title Page Echoes of the salpinx: the trumpet in ancient Greek culture. Carolyn Susan Bowyer. Royal Holloway, University of London. MPhil. 1 Declaration of Authorship I Carolyn Susan Bowyer hereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is entirely my own. Where I have consulted the work of others, this is always clearly stated. Signed: ______________________ Date: ________________________ 2 Echoes of the salpinx : the trumpet in ancient Greek culture. Abstract The trumpet from the 5th century BC in ancient Greece, the salpinx, has been largely ignored in modern scholarship. My thesis begins with the origins and physical characteristics of the Greek trumpet, comparing trumpets from other ancient cultures. I then analyse the sounds made by the trumpet, and the emotions caused by these sounds, noting the growing sophistication of the language used by Greek authors. In particular, I highlight its distinctively Greek association with the human voice. I discuss the range of signals and instructions given by the trumpet on the battlefield, demonstrating a developing technical vocabulary in Greek historiography. In my final chapter, I examine the role of the trumpet in peacetime, playing its part in athletic competitions, sacrifice, ceremonies, entertainment and ritual. The thesis re-assesses and illustrates the significant and varied roles played by the trumpet in Greek culture. 3 Echoes of the salpinx : the trumpet in ancient Greek culture Title page page 1 Declaration of Authorship page 2 Abstract page 3 Table of Contents pages -
Katherine Hall, Did Alexander the Great Die from Guillain-Barré Syndrome?
The Ancient History Bulletin VOLUME THIRTY-TWO: 2018 NUMBERS 3-4 Edited by: Edward Anson ò Michael Fronda òDavid Hollander Timothy Howe ò John Vanderspoel Pat Wheatley ò Sabine Müller òAlex McAuley Catalina Balmacedaò Charlotte Dunn ISSN 0835-3638 ANCIENT HISTORY BULLETIN Volume 32 (2018) Numbers 3-4 Edited by: Edward Anson, Catalina Balmaceda, Michael Fronda, David Hollander, Alex McAuley, Sabine Müller, John Vanderspoel, Pat Wheatley Senior Editor: Timothy Howe Assistant Editor: Charlotte Dunn Editorial correspondents Elizabeth Baynham, Hugh Bowden, Franca Landucci Gattinoni, Alexander Meeus, Kurt Raaflaub, P.J. Rhodes, Robert Rollinger, Victor Alonso Troncoso Contents of volume thirty-two Numbers 3-4 72 Fabrizio Biglino, Early Roman Overseas Colonization 95 Catherine Rubincam, How were Battlefield Dead Counted in Greek Warfare? 106 Katherine Hall, Did Alexander the Great Die from Guillain-Barré Syndrome? 129 Bejamin Keim, Communities of Honor in Herodotus’ Histories NOTES TO CONTRIBUTORS AND SUBSCRIBERS The Ancient History Bulletin was founded in 1987 by Waldemar Heckel, Brian Lavelle, and John Vanderspoel. The board of editorial correspondents consists of Elizabeth Baynham (University of Newcastle), Hugh Bowden (Kings College, London), Franca Landucci Gattinoni (Università Cattolica, Milan), Alexander Meeus (University of Mannhiem), Kurt Raaflaub (Brown University), P.J. Rhodes (Durham University), Robert Rollinger (Universität Innsbruck), Victor Alonso Troncoso (Universidade da Coruña) AHB is currently edited by: Timothy Howe (Senior Editor: [email protected]), Edward Anson, Catalina Balmaceda, Michael Fronda, David Hollander, Alex McAuley, Sabine Müller, John Vanderspoel, Pat Wheatley and Charlotte Dunn. AHB promotes scholarly discussion in Ancient History and ancillary fields (such as epigraphy, papyrology, and numismatics) by publishing articles and notes on any aspect of the ancient world from the Near East to Late Antiquity. -
'(V Tfj Aiaet0nti Kpoias'-Aristotle*
THE PARADOXICAL TEXT 'ON THE HEART' PART II by I. M. LONIE '(V Tfj aIaeT0n tI Kpoias'-Aristotle* ERASISTRATUS AND THE VALVES Erasistratus described all four valves, 'On the Heart' describes only two. Is 'On the Heart' using the discovery which Galen emphatically attributes to Erasistratus, and to no-one else, but using it only in part? This question prompts a further one: what was the real nature ofErasistratus' discovery? References to Erasistratus on the valves are scattered throughout the corpus of Galen's works, and Galen, it is salutary to remember, was not writing history but defining his own views and defending them against rival views. Polemic is ofthe essence of Galen's mode of exposition, and in this he was a true Greek. We may at times suspect his accuracy, and in any case the removal, intact and undistorted, of a par- ticular doctrine from among the complicated tissues of Galenic controversy is an operation which requires some care. Thus the locus classicus on Erasistratus' discovery of the valves occurs in de Placitis 6.6 (V, 549K), and the context of this passage is Galen's development and defence of his own view that not the heart, as Aristotle and Erasistratus said, but the liver is the ARCHE or starting point ofthe veins. The context is further complicated by the fact that Galen opposes his own view not only to that of Aristotle and Erasistratus but to that of certain followers of Erasistratus who appear to have 'developed' Erasistratus' views on the function of the liver in line with Aristotelian doctrine. -
Francesca Schironi from Alexandria to Babylon
Francesca Schironi From Alexandria to Babylon ≥ Sozomena Studies in the Recovery of Ancient Texts Edited on behalf of the Herculaneum Society by Alessandro Barchiesi, Robert Fowler, Dirk Obbink and Nigel Wilson Vol. 4 Walter de Gruyter · Berlin · New York Francesca Schironi From Alexandria to Babylon Near Eastern Languages and Hellenistic Erudition in the Oxyrhynchus Glossary (P.Oxy. 1802 ϩ 4812) Walter de Gruyter · Berlin · New York Țȍ Printed on acid-free paper which falls within the guidelines of the ANSI to ensure permanence and durability. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Schironi, Francesca. From Alexandria to Babylon : Near Eastern languages and Hellenistic erudition in the Oxyrhynchus glossary (P.Oxy. 1802 ϩ 4812) / Francesca Schironi. p. cm. Ϫ (Sozomena. Studies in the recovery of ancient texts ; vol. 4) “The Oxyrhynchus Glossary that is the object of the present study was previously published by Arthur S. Hunt as P.Oxy. 15.1802” Ϫ Introduction. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-3-11-020693-7 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Semitic languagesϪLexicographyϪManuscripts. 2. Ma- nuscripts, Greek (Papyri) Ϫ Egypt Ϫ Bahnasa. 3. Bahnasa (Egypt) Ϫ Antiquties. 4. Oxyrhynchus papyri. I. Hunt, Ar- thur S. (Arthur Surridge), 1871Ϫ1934. II. Title. PJ3075.S45 2009 4831.028Ϫdc22 2009005184 ISBN 978-3-11-020693-7 Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de. Ą Copyright 2009 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, D-10785 Berlin. All rights reserved, including those of translation into foreign languages. -
The Thorax in History 2. Hellenistic Experiment and Human Dissection
Thorax: first published as 10.1136/thx.33.2.153 on 1 April 1978. Downloaded from Thorax, 1978, 33, 153-166 The thorax in history 2. Hellenistic experiment and human dissection R.K. FRENCH From the Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine, University of Cambridge The first anatomical revolution occurred in Alex- the dead body was essential to the ancient practice andria in the third century before Christ. To that of embalming, an Egyptian technique well known period we can trace the continuous historical line to the Greeks. The Greek philosophers, Plato and of our own ideas on the structure and function of Aristotle, emphasised the distinction between soul the body, important among which are those on the and body:' it was the immaterial soul that sur- thorax. For the first time, the human body was vived the death of the corporeal body, and the systematically explored in an attempt to under- soul, sharing no characteristics with the body, stand its structure, and, with some notable errors could not be affected by the postmortem mutila- from animal anatomy, the only source for 'human' tion of the body; there was no quasi-material after- anatomy in the preceding period, these anatomical life in human form, as so many cultures believed. ideas are recognisably similar to those of to-day. In a word, the old religious taboos no longer The physiological ideas of the Alexandrians, on applied. the other hand, are strikingly different from ours, Of fundamental importance in the development and their subsequent transformation will be exam- of human dissection in Alexandria was the exist- http://thorax.bmj.com/ ined in later articles. -
From the Heart to Heart Failure”
25/06/2019 “FROM THE HEART TO HEART FAILURE” “CONCEPTS, MISCONCEPTS AND KIWI CONNECTIONS” REMINISCENCES OF AN OCTOGENARIAN CARDIOLOGIST MY SINCERE APOLOGIES TO MANY UNACKNOWLEDGED- TIME!! HAMID IKRAM 1 2 WHAT WAS I DOING WHEN THE 20TH CENTURY ENDED? -GIVING 2 SIMILAR LECTURES FROM DIFFERENT PERSPETIVES So Why Study History? West East Wellington Lahore 3 4 In the Bible, it is the most frequently mentioned internal organ, being referred to over 850 times. (often in a psychic sense) Wilkinson,J : Evangelical Quarterly; 63:3 (1991), 195-210 Olmec Heart effigy1300 BC Neolithic cave drawing in Spain Oldest depiction of Heart -about 30,000 yrs ago 5 6 1 25/06/2019 Imhotep- The True ‘Father of Medicine’ Importantly, Egyptians recognized that the peripheral pulse resulted from the heart and that assessing the beat ofthe heart and vessels provided insight into the patient’s condition. Some scholars go so far as to assert the ancient Egyptians actually measured the pulse, but the lack of any time- keeping device probably precluded this practice. The Step Pyramid-Saqarra’ Nonetheless, it was a remarkably advanced understanding that predated similar Greek knowledge by over a 1000 years “ The first figure of a Physician to stand out clearly from the Mists of Antiquity” – Sir William Osler Vascular Medicine and Surgery in Ancient Egypt- A commoner by birth that laid the foundations for the medical profession over 4500 Barr J. (J Vasc Surg 2014;60:260-3.) years ago and over 2000 years before the birth of Hippocrates. His legacy affected the great civilisations that followed and without him, medicine may not be where it is today. -
Physiological and Pathophysiological Aspects in Herophilos Writings
CONTENTS GENERAL ASPECTS OF HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF MEDICINE Herophilus and vivisection: a re-appraisal . 5 J. Ganz HISTORY OF MEDICAL DISCIPLINES Philippe Ricord – prominent venereologist of the XIX century . 13 K.A. Pashkov, M.S. Betekhtin Development of national system of pharmaceutical education in 1920–1930: Moscow medico-pharmaceutical combine . 18 M.S. Sergeeva FROM THE HISTORY OF HEALTHCARE Zemstvo district medicine and charity in Russia . 29 L.E. Gorelova, T.I. Surovtseva The formation of factory legislation on health protection in Europe and Russia in the 19th to early 20th centuries . 35 I.V. Karpenko FROM THE HISTORY OF RUSSIAN MEDICINE Stages of formation and further development of domestic cardiology. Part 1 . 40 V.I. Borodulin, S.P. Glyantsev, A.V. Topolianskiy On the Biography of Professor and Psychiatrist Anatoly Kotsovsky (1864−1937) . 48 K.K. Vasylyev, Yu.K. Vasylyev Professor of surgery at the University of Moscow I.P. Aleksinsky: his life and work in Russia and in emigration . 55 O.A. Trefi lova, I.A. Rozanov INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH Some evidence of the worship of Apollo Physician (Ietroos) in ancient Greece and the Black Sea Coast . 73 E.S. Naumova SPECIFIC QUESTIONS IN THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE Physiological and pathophysiological aspects in Herophilos writings . 81 L.D. Maltseva SOURCE Continuity in the views of Hippocrates and Galen on the nature of the human body . 89 D.A. Balalykin 4 SPECIFIC QUESTIONS IN THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE Physiological and pathophysiological aspects in Herophilos writings L.D. Maltseva I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, The Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation The results of studies of the physiological and pathophysiological aspects of the scientifi c practice of physician Herophilus of Alexandria are presented.