ABSTRACT
Hydrocephalus was a recognizable medical problem during the Byzantine period. In the medical texts of the time it was attributed to the pressure that was applied on the newborn's head during labour. The suggested treatments focused on the relief of the symptoms only and surgical methods were believed to be helpful in very rare cases.
Subject(s)
Hydrocephalus/history , Byzantium , History, Medieval , Humans , Hydrocephalus/therapyABSTRACT
Evidence on herbal, veterinary and chemical substances used in various forms for respiratory problems of childhood such as acute otitis, acute tonsillitis and parotitis was investigated in the Byzantine medical treatizes, from the 4th to the 15th century ad. The problem of asthma in childhood was well known during the Byzantine period. Despite the existent Hippocratic tradition, the physicians of the times developed their own methods of treatment. The texts of Antyllus, Orivasios from Pergamos, Aetius of Amida, Alexander of Tralles, Paulus Aeginitis, Theophanis Nonnos and others, strongly suggest influences from ancient Greek and Roman medicine, but at the same time indicate an original medical thought.
Subject(s)
Respiratory Tract Diseases/history , Asthma/drug therapy , Asthma/history , Byzantium , Child , History, Medieval , Humans , Otitis/drug therapy , Otitis/history , Parotitis/drug therapy , Parotitis/history , Phytotherapy/history , Respiratory Tract Diseases/therapy , Tonsillitis/history , Tonsillitis/therapyABSTRACT
Although Byzantine physicians seemed to recognize the clinical entity and the symptoms of juvenile diabetes mellitus very well, they did not mention many details about the treatment of the disease. Most probably they treated the young patients in the same way as the adults. It is worth mentioning that diabetes was considered a difficult medical problem.
