Cito tuto jucunde, a phrase that can be translated as “Quickly, safely, and pleasantly,” was the motto of one of the fathers of medicine—a Greek who refuted the Hippocratic doctrine of the four humors in favor of a proto-microbial theory based on Democritus’ atomic theory. He was a man who recommended not confining the mentally […]
Physicians
Posted inClassical Archaeology
Analysis Reveals how Roman Surgeons Used Medical Instruments Found in Ancient Britain
Advanced archaeological technology has brought to light the intricate design and craftsmanship of Roman surgical instruments used 2,000 years ago. Researchers utilized a CT scanner to examine six medical implements, including a bronze scalpel handle that was once employed in surgical procedures. The study was conducted at the SHArD 3D Lab at the University of […]
Posted inModern Era
Larrey, the French Surgeon who Created the First Ambulance Service, Treating Allies and Foes at Waterloo
June 18, 1815. Napoleon’s attempt to rebuild his empire, after escaping exile on the island of Elba and regaining control of France, came to an abrupt and disastrous end near a place called Mont Saint-Jean, which has gone down in history as the Battle of Waterloo. During the retreat, Prussian soldiers captured him while trying […]
Posted inModern Era, Science
The Physician who Claimed Souls Weigh 21 Grams
It’s possible that many readers have seen the movie 21 Grams (directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu), in which Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, and Benicio Del Toro, among others, portray a series of interconnected stories around a car accident. Guillermo Arriaga, the screenwriter, took the title from a historical episode that the French writer André Maurois […]
Posted inAncient Rome
Arcagathos “the butcher” was the first physician to work in Ancient Rome, in the late 3rd century B.C.
In 219 B.C. a Greek named Arcagathos (Ἀρχάγαθος) from the Peloponnese arrived in Rome and settled in the city, as recounted by Pliny the Elder, drawing from the Annals written by Lucius Cassius Hemina around 146 B.C. It wouldn’t have been exceptional, as many Greeks were arriving in Rome at that time, if not for […]
