Trichiasis in Ancient Times Kostopoulou, Olympia, MD; Grzybowski, Andrzej, MD, PhD; Trompoukis, Constantinos, MD, PhD
Clinics in dermatology,
07/2016, Letnik:
34, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Abstract Trichiasis , recognized since the time of Hippocrates, is a cause of ocular irritation that may cause scarring of the cornea and threaten sight. We have reviewed the original Greek medical ...texts made from the 1st to the 7th century CE and present the existing medical knowledge relating to trichiasis, including its clinical picture, cause, diagnosis, and treatment. Recognition of trichiasis as a stage of trachoma and its distinction from pseudotrichiasis gave the impetus for physicians of the era to use a significant number of pharmaceutical and surgical treatments.
The Raised Pelvic Position, also known as Trendelenburg position, consists of the elevation of the pelvis above the horizontal plane in the supine position with the head lowered. The position is ...named after Friedrich Trendelenburg, a German surgeon, who flourished in Berlin at the end of the nineteenth century. Although modern studies trace the position's principle back to the first century BC, we herein present even earlier descriptions, dating back to the fifth century BC.
The whole ancient Greek literature was digitally searched. All relevant references were analyzed from the original sources.
We found at least nine references to the Raised Pelvic Position in the ancient Greek literature from the following physicians: Hippocrates (fifth century BC), Soranus of Ephesus (first century AD), Aetius of Amida (fifth century AD) and Paulus Aegineta (seventh century AD).
All references presented, describe clearly the Raised Pelvic Position, as part of a strategy to repair uterine pathologies, mainly prolapsed uterus, but also instability, bleeding, tumors and infertility. We conclude that ancient Greek writers were aware of the usefulness of the head-down position, as reflected from the numerous existing descriptions dating back to the fifth century BC.
Objective
The purpose of this study is to identify clinical manifestations of eating disorders in the Eastern Mediterranean region from the first century AD until the seventh century AD and evaluate ...relevant awareness among the physicians of the era.
Method
The authors searched original medical texts written in Greek by physicians practicing in the Eastern Mediterranean region from the first century AD to the seventh century AD. The search focused on passages that include possible references to clinical entities analogous to anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) as described in the DSM‐5 and the contemporary literature.
Results
Descriptions of conditions that resemble AN or BN can be found in the work of Galen, Oribasius, Aetius of Amida, Leon Philoumenos, Alexander Trallian, and Paul of Egina. Successive physicians confirmed the observations of their predecessors and add to the description of the clinical presentations and their etiology.
Discussion
This research provides evidence of awareness of presentations resembling currently defined eating disorders in the Eastern Mediterranean region during a period with different norms and values. Observations from the period can serve as a point for reflection about the characteristics and etiology of AN and BN in the 21st century.
Headache is a prevalent clinical symptom and condition, whose management has been challenging from the antiquity to the 21st century. Physicians in the Greek, Roman and Byzantine antiquity employed ...surgical techniques to treat headache in patients presenting with persistent symptoms that were not alleviated with conservative means. A survey in the medical literature of the period reveals that two surgical procedures, periscyphismus and section of the temporal vessels, were developed for this purpose. The present study describes the techniques presented in the sources of the period and elaborates on their evolution and influence across different historical periods and contexts.
Background
Although current progress in surgical instruments is oriented towards stapler devices, minimally invasive instrumentation and advanced cautery tools, it definitely seems intriguing to ...determine what instruments were used in antiquity and to appraise their use. Most adequate information can be retrieved from manuscripts of early medical authors, of whom Paul of Aegina (AD 625–690), also being a most important surgeon, is the most recent. The aim of this study is to present surgical instruments used in his practice.
Methods
Surgical instruments mentioned in the original Greek text of his monumental work named Epitome of Medicine were sought using computer software. Further, similar research was performed on other significant manuscripts of earlier Greek medical writers to determine whether some of the instruments were exclusively mentioned by Paul of Aegina.
Results
In total, 121 different surgical instruments were identified and described in detail in the Epitome of Medicine. Thirty‐three instruments (27%) were exclusively reported by Paul of Aegina.
Conclusions
In antiquity a large number of surgical instruments were already being used. Paul of Aegina described in detail a large variety of fine, as well as a substantial number of, original surgical instruments, which he himself used in a wide spectrum of surgical operations.
Introduction: Polydactyly, or polydactylism, is a common congenital disorder of the limbs, consisting of any digit duplication beyond the normal five. The term syndactyly refers to fused digits. We ...herein present a thorough description of these diseases together with their surgical treatment, provided by Oribasius, a Byzantine physician of the 4th century. To our knowledge, this is the earliest description of supernumerary and fused fingers and their surgical management.
Material and Methods: We conducted a thorough study of Oribasius' work.
Results: The 15th chapter of the 47th book of Oribasius' work is devoted to finger abnormalities (i.e. polydactyly and syndactyly) and their surgical treatment.
Discussion: With regard to the extensive medical knowledge of the 4th century as survived in Oribasius' work, these descriptions comprise, to the best of our knowledge, the earliest written references to the surgical treatment of polydactyly and syndactyly.
Facial Scars in the Greek Papyri Papakostas, Minas; Litinas, Nikos; Konsolaki, Eleni ...
Archiv für Papyrusforschung und verwandte Gebiete,
12/2022, Letnik:
68, Številka:
2
Journal Article
The indication of the location of a scar or scars on various parts of a body was used for the identification of persons in a large number of Greek non-literary documents. Facial scars were mentioned ...most frequently, obviously because they were the most distinguishing feature of the parts of the body that were not usually covered, and one could observe and record them immediately. However, the exact shape and form of these scars was not described, and only the general term “scar” was used. Various diseases and accidental wounds can be understood as having left permanent scars on the body, but mainly, and more specifically, on the head.
