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Hellenistic Roman Medicine
Hellenistic Roman Medicine
There were protecting saints for every organ and against all
diseases: St. Lucy was protector of the eyes, St. Apollonia of the
teeth, St. Blaise for the throat, St. Fiacre protected against
haemorrhoids, St. Anthony against leprosy, and St. Roch against
plague, St. Anne parturition and St. Agatha against diseases of
breast.
So, above all, great importance was given to what one ate in
relation to the temperament. For example, if a person was very
choleric, it meant he had a great deal of bile and too much fire. It
was necessary to tone down and dampen such a temperament
by making the person eat fish from marshes, which is cold, or
otherwise the coot (which was considered to be a fish).
Emphasis was place on examining the ill and on examining the
urine. There was a degree of development in surgery, but not in
the condition of the surgeon, who was still considered to be a
sort of servant (as underlined by his raiment) and not a doctor.