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

‘)
Thokozile