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1. Medicine Through Time The Romans
2. Background From about 300B.C. Rome grew in power as a result of trade and conquest
In the early days there were few doctors the head of the household treated the sick
4. When Greece was conquered Rome absorbed much specialist knowledge and many doctors
Roman medicine was a mixture of new theories and developments of the Greeks
Medicine in Ancient Rome also brought about some great developments in Public Health
Medicine was improved through the studies of Galen
5. At first Greek doctors were hated and treated with suspicion (they were a defeated enemy)
Slowly, over time, their skill and knowledge led to greater acceptance
Greek ideas regarding the cause of disease crept into Roman life
In 293 following an outbreak of plague in Rome an Asclepion was built
In 46B.C. Julius Caesar passed a law allowing Greeks to become Roman citizens
8. Roman power and influence depended on the army
Rome needed fit and healthy men
This need drove forward many medical advances particularly in Public Health
9. Apart from the army and the need for fit and healthy soldiers there were other reasons why Rome made huge advances 1. A strong well organised central government
2. The Romans were great engineers
3 They absorbed much of the knowledge and skills of the countries they conquered
10. The Romans were very practical people and learnt much from observation The realised that people living near swamps and marshes got ill (malaria)
Solution Build a temple to the gods !
little changed
Solution drain the swamps it worked !
11. Roman Public Health Romans were not as enquiring as the Greeks they were not so interested in the cause or the cure - they were more interested in PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE Aqueducts brought in clean fresh water to the cities
There were public baths & fountains
There were public toilets
There was a sewage system
12. Roman Aqueducts
14. Public Lavatories
15. Roman Sewers
16. Roman Baths
18. Public Fountains
19. How good was Roman Public Health? The Romans had doctors and hospitals for all its citizens first National Health Service?
Life expectancy in Rome was longer than in England 1300 years later
Problems The River Tiber often became polluted and smelly !
20. Great Individuals - GALEN
21. Claudius Galen A Greek doctor born 129 A.D. in Pergamum (Turkey) (Greece)
Trained as a doctor at the Asclepion there
Continued his studies at Alexandria (dissections no longer allowed)
By 157 A.D. he was a surgeon/doctor to the gladiators back in Pergamum
22. Claudius Galen Went to Rome in 161 A.D. became famous as a skilled doctor
Appointed doctor to the emperors
Began to experiment and write he wrote over 100 books !
He was not religious but often talked about the creator his ideas therefore were acceptable to Christians and Muslims in the centuries ahead
23. Claudius Galen He was a great believer & follower of Hippocrates ideas especially the 4 humours
He added to the ideas of Hippocrates. He suggested the treatment of opposites to restore balance
pepper for colds, cucumber for hot fever
He was a great believer in blood-letting
24. His most famous experiment was on a pig By cutting certain nerves he proved the brain not the heart controlled the body
26. Why is Galen so important ? Galens writings brought together the knowledge of Hippocrates and the Greeks, but also the great medical ideas, from Indian and Egypt
He wrote about all aspects of medicine drugs, anatomy, physiology
These writings survived the fall of Rome and were to become the most comprehensive and accepted medical work for the next 1500 years
27. However . . . Galen only really recorded his successes
He was arrogant and opinionated
Most of his dissections were on animals and he made anatomical mistakes
Galens was not questioned until the Renaissance over a 1000 years later
28. Summary from Bitesize Revision
