Medicine
The
science of medicine was developed and implemented by great doctors in the major
cities of the empire, while many studies were written concerning the means that
are suitable for the treatment of patients and the pharmacology, both during
Late Antiquity and during the middle and late Byzantium.
The
works of the great Greek physicians, Hippocrates and Galen formed the
foundation of Byzantine medicine, which was further developed and enriched.
The contribution of Byzantium, not only in
the theory of medicine but also in the fields of botany, pharmacology, as well
as surgery, is of great importance. Indicative is the fact that approximately
700 substances of plants, animals or minerals, of which medicines can be
prepared and more than 200 kinds of surgical instruments have been recorded.
Indeed, the mention of a separation surgery of Siamese twins from Armenia occurring in Constantinople
in the 10th century, although with no happy ending as the twins did not
survive, testifies the high level of surgery of that time.
Hospitals, as we know from references in texts, were
charitable institutions operating under the supervision of the Church. In the
early centuries they were called καταγώγια
or hostels, and it seems that they have functioned as
hotels, where the sick travelers could take a makeshift treatment. From the 6th
century onwards they were used exclusively as spaces for hospitalization. Major
hospitals of Constantinople during the 10th century were the hospital of St Sampson
and of Euvoulos, which had doctors, nurses and assistant staff. However, the most
important hospital of the capital was the one founded by Emperor John II
Comnenus in 1136 in the monastery of Pantokrator. In particular, it was an
institution that contained a nursing home and leper hospital and a hostel
(hospital) with outpatient clinics and fifty beds distributed in five wards:
surgical, ophthalmological, gastroenterological, gynecological and pathological.
The personnel consisted of doctors, trainees and helpers, a female doctor for
women, midwives and nurses, while there were also pharmacists, cooks, bakers,
cleaners and washers, servants and doormen. There were also toilets, bathroom,
pharmacy, an area for the physicians, laboratories and auxiliary spaces for the
staff. Of the aforementioned institutions, perhaps the only one to survive till
the end of the 13th century, if not later, was the hospital of St Sampson.
The high level of the medicine
in Byzantium is
proved through the complex techniques in the preparation of drugs, the surgical
tools, the specialties developed (ophthalmology, gynecology and obstetrics,
dermatology, dentistry, cardiology, orthopedics) as well as by the laboratorial
controls. The recent research indicates that mainly the rich went to hospitals
or private doctors, while the poorer, generally resorted to temples of saints that
were famous for their healing powers, where they stayed expecting a miracle to
happen. Also, very common was the use of magical amulets for the protection or
treatment of illnesses and the use of astrology and horoscopes for diagnosing
diseases or health related predictions.
The works
In Late Antiquity, important names of medicine were:
(a) Oribasius, who wrote, by order of Justinian, the Medical Synagogues, a summary of the works of Galen, as well as Efporista, where a list of easy to
prepare drugs is given, (b) Aetius of Amida, who lived during the reign of
Justinian and studied in Alexandria and in Constantinople; he wrote sixteen
medical scientific studies organized into four books (Tetrabibli), of which the one that deals with the anatomy and
physiology of the eye is considered the most important one before the
Renaissance period; in the other books he refers to drugs and to the effective
use of herbs, describes the parasite of intestines and he is interested in the urological
problems and arthritis; however, he departs from the scientific knowledge and
in some cases he recommends the use of amulets that will keep away the "evil
eye", (c) Alexander of Tralles (brother
of Anthemios, architect of Agia Sophia) who particularly studied the
properties of herbs and extended the work of Dioscorides (significant
physician, pharmacologist and botanist of the first century AD), (d) Paul of Aegina, who recorded his knowledge in
gynecology, toxicology and therapeutics in his work Medical Compendium in seven books, which became also known to the
Arabs, (e) Theophilus, a doctor of the 7th century, who wrote the book Constitution of urine, where he describes
ways of diagnosing diseases based on a detailed analysis of the characteristics
of urine.
In the middle and late
Byzantium the writings concerning the field of medicine include the following:
(a) Anatomy of Gender by the monk Meletius, which refers to the human
anatomy and physiology, (b) Medical Compendium of doctor Leo containing issues
related to the theory of medicine, remedies and surgery, (c) Compendium of
treating diseases by Theophanes Chrysobalantes, (d) the Medical Compendium
of Simeon Seth, (e) Dynameron by Nikolaos Myrepsos, who gathered 2,656
prescriptions with eyedrops, grouts, ointments, antidepressant medications, powders,
etc., which formed until the 15th century the official pharmaceutical code of
West, (f) the Medical method of Joannes Aktouarius etc.
We
also
learn
about
the
diseases
form
references
in
the
writings of non-specialists, such as secular and
ecclesiastical writers. The medical knowledge of the Byzantines was, unsurprisingly,
transferred to other people, for example the Arabs, with whom they came in
contact since the 7th century, and the Armenians after the 10th century.
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