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Medicine In Ancient Rome





MEDICINAL INSTRUMENTS


Some tools that were used in Ancient Roman Medicine were as follows:

Scalpel s : These instruments were strictly used to make incisions, whether it be deep or long cuts. Scalpels were mostly made from bronze or steel.

Bone hooks: These instruments were long and thin and were mostly used for maneuvering tissue. The Greeks also used this tool. The hooks came in two varieties: sharp and blunt. Sharp hooks were used to remove tissue from wounds and blunt hooks were used for dissections.

Bone drills: Picture a wine cork screw, this is what a bone drill looked like. Bone drills were used to remove diseased bone tissue from the skull or to remove any forgein object(s).

Vaginal Speculum : This is one of the rarest surviving medical instruments in Roman Medicine. These tools were large and were often recommended for diagnosing vaginal and uterine disorders.

Spatula : This instrument was used to mix and apply various ointments to patients.

Probe : This instrument was used to carefully examine a wound before treatment.

Surgical Saw : This instrument was used to cut through bones in amputations and surgeries.

Forceps : Used as modern pincers are used today. Its main purpose was to remove splinters and other small unwanted fragments in the tissue

Catheter : Used to cause urination. It would was likely far more uncomfortable than modern catheters due to the fact that Roman catheters were made of some sort of metal such as bronze.


MEDICINAL HERBS


Some Ancient Roman herbs used in medicine were:

Fennel : It was thought to have calming properties

Elecampane : Used to help with digestion

Sage : Although it had little medicinal value, they had great religious value.

Garlic

Fenugreek : Used in the treatment of pneumonia

Mustard

Rosemary

Silphium : Used for a wide variety of ailments and conditions--especially for birth control.


SKEPTICISM


There was also a raving sect of ancient Roman people who saw the medical profession as a chance to get rich quick, as these were that days before the Hippocratic oath and no qualifications were required in order to classify yourself as a doctor. Many of these were complete witch doctors who used cures like sliced black mouse. Conversely, there were some quack medical ideas that have some medical soundness today, like the use of cobwebs to stem the flow of blood.


FAMOUS ROMAN HOSPITAL


Insula Tiberina was a temple to the god of healing Aesculapius, or the Greek god Asklepios , and a hospital. It was built on a small isle in the Tiber River and has been a center of medicine well into the middle ages.