|
Greco-Roman
:
Alexandrian Greek medicine influenced conquering Rome despite initial
resistance from the Romans. Asclepiades of Bithynia was important
in establishing Greek medicine in Rome in the 1st century bc. Asclepiades
taught that the body was composed of disconnected particles, or
atoms, separated by pores. Disease was caused by restriction of
the orderly motion of the atoms or by the blocking of the pores,
which he attempted to cure by exercise, bathing, and variations
in diet, rather than by drugs. This theory was revived periodically
and in various forms as late as the 18th century.
Galen
of Pergamum, also a Greek, was the most important physician of this
period and is second only to Hippocrates in the medical history
of antiquity. His view of medicine remained undisputed into the
Middle Ages ( 5th century to 15th century). Galen described the
four classic symptoms of inflammation and added much to the knowledge
of infectious disease and pharmacology. His most important work,
however, was in the field of the form and function of muscles and
the function of the areas of the spinal cord. He also excelled in
diagnosis and prognosis. Some of Galen's teachings tended to hold
back medical progress, however, such as his theory that the blood
carried the pneuma, or life spirit, which gave it its red color.
This theory, coupled with the erroneous notion that the blood passed
through a porous wall between the ventricles of the heart, delayed
the understanding of circulation and did much to discourage research
in physiology. The importance of Galen's work cannot be overestimated,
however, for through his writings knowledge of Greek medicine was
subsequently passed to the Western world by the Arabs.
While
the Romans learned most of their medical knowledge from Egypt, Greece,
and other countries that they conquered, their own contributions
involved sanitation and public health. Roman engineers built aqueducts
to carry pure water to residents of Rome, a sewage system to dispose
of human wastes, and public baths. These measures helped to prevent
infectious diseases transmitted by contaminated water.
The
gradual infiltration of the Roman world by a succession of barbarian
tribes was followed by a period of stagnation in the sciences. These
invasions destroyed the great medical library in Alexandria (Alexandria,
Library of) and many of its books and medical manuscripts were lost.
Western medicine in the Middle Ages consisted of tribal folklore
mingled with poorly understood remnants of classical learning. Even
in sophisticated Constantinople (now Istanbul), a series of epidemics
served only to initiate a revival of magical practices, superstition,
and intellectual stagnation.
|
