Roman Medicine

280 Pages·1970·12.499 MB·English

by  John Scarborough

J/^T TK T O
■ RBOROUGH
PHILLIPS ACADEMY
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3 1867 00018 9840
ROMAN
MEDICINE
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ASPECTS OF
GREEKAND ROMAN LIFE
GENERAL EDITOR:H-,H SCULLARD
ROMAN MEDItIN;E
JOHN SCARBORO ,
In this well-documented study die
author discusses in considerable detail
the major aspects of Roman medicine,
which he describes as a synthesis of
medical traditions from the Greek,
Hellenistic and Roman worlds. He
considers the part played by the
Roman pater familias who dispensed
medicine to his own household, the
untrained medkus of the Roman legion,
and the Greek physicians who were
scorned by the general public but who
had great prestige among the aristoc¬
racy.
Dr. Scarborough stresses the fact
that, while Roman medicine was
severely limited by modem standards,
it was remarkably proficient in dealing
with most medical problems in ways
that were acceptable to the age. Prob¬
ably the greatest contributions of the
Romans were the systematizing and
recording of medical information and
their extraordinary technical achieve¬
ments in the fields of sanitation and
pubhc health.
The book treats a strangely neglected
aspect of ancient culture in a way that
will appeal to general readers as well as
to scholars. The text is illustrated with
photographs and line drawings taken
from many sources.

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ASPECTS OF GREEK AND
ROMAN LIFE
General Editor: H. H. Scullard
* ★ ★
ROMAN MEDICINE
John Scarborough

ROMAN
MEDICINE
John Scarborough
CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS
ITHACA, NEW YORK
L
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations
in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not
be reproduced in any form without permission in
writing from the publisher. For information
address Cornell University Press, 124 Roberts
Place, Ithaca, New York 14850.
First published
(d i
-^
7
Sea. ^
Standard Book Number: 8014-0525-4
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 72-81596
PRINTED IN ENGIAND
CONTENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 7
PREFACE II
I THE BEGINNINGS OF ROMAN MEDICINE I5
II THE BACKGROUND OF HELLENISTIC MEDICINE 26
III HELLENISTIC MEDICINE IN THE ROMAN WORLD 38
IV CATO AND THE MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDISTS $2
V MEDICAL PRACTICE AND THE ROMAN ARMY 66
VI THE ROMAN TECHNICAL AND HYGIENIC
ACHIEVEMENT 76
VII THE PUBLIC ESTIMATE OF ROMAN MEDICINE 94
VIII THE DOCTOR AND HIS PLACE IN ROMAN
SOCIETY 109
IX ROMAN MEDICAL EDUCATION 122
X THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ROMAN MEDICINE IN ROMAN
SOCIETY 134
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6 CONTENTS
APPENDIX I BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES I49
APPENDIX II SOURCES AND PROBLEMS 162
APPENDIX III ON HUMAN DISSECTION IN ROMAN
MEDICINE 168
APPENDIX IV SOME NOTES ON ROMAN VETERINARY
MEDICINE I7I
NOTES 174
SOURCES OF ILLUSTRATIONS 225
BIBLIOGRAPHY 227
INDEX 231