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Blood-letting was a common therapeutic method in antiquity; many means were used to draw blood, including the application of leeches. In this paper, ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine authors up to the 7th century AD were studied, a research that provided us with references that may be divided into two groups: those related to the medicinal use of leeches, and those related to cases in which leeches were swallowed and had to be removed. In the first group, detailed descriptions of the method of usage and of the diseases requiring leeching were found. In the second group, brief reference is made to the problems caused by swallowing leeches, and to the methods used to expel them from the human organism. The earliest references to the medicinal use of leeches may be found in the writings of Theocritus (3rd century BC), Nicander (2nd century BC) and Horace (1st century BC, while the phenomenon of swallowing a leech is first mentioned in one of the Epidaurian 'iamata' dating to the 4th century BC.

The decline and fall of the Roman Empire and the dramatic change of the Mediterranean world in late antiquity have ever been discussed in history. The present paper outlines, from the point of view of medical history, some recent tendencies of research, including those which bring in scientific evidence.

This paper focuses on the Greco-Roman views on obesity with certain extensions to the Byzantine era. The writers reported hereby are Aulus Cornelius Celsus (circa 25 BC), Dioscorides Pedanius (40-90 AD), Soranus of Ephesus (98-138 AD) whose writings on the subject survived through Caelius Aurelianus (5th c. AD), Claudius Aelianus (3rd C. AD), Oribasius (324-400 AD), Aetius of Amida (circa 450 AD), Alexander Trallianus (6th c. AD), Paulus Aegineta (7th c. AD), and Theophilus Protospatharius (9th C. AD). All of the authors treat the subject of etiology, clinical manifestations and treatment, while the Hippocratic and Galenic views seem to be taken into consideration. The most important observation made on the basis of the studied texts is the emersion of the notion of the "Mediterranean diet" that was advised as an extremely successful conservative way to treat obesity. The Greco-Roman and Byzantine writers continue the long tradition of treating obesity and set the foundations for modern methods of treatment.

Having started with the theory that the forms of antique surgical blades still existed during the XXth century; Greek Roman, Byzantine and the XXth century surgical blades were studied; and their similarities and differences were put forth. In accordance with the above said aim, the definitions and classification of the antique surgical blades were realized. XXth century surgical blades were picked up from the XXth century surgical instruments catalogues. The photographs of both Antique and XXth century instruments were compared according to their shapes and functions. Antique medical literatures were also studied through the writings of researchers on the subject. The surgical work of Zahrawi was also studied so as to fill up the gaps of information on the antique period, as Zahrawi's work relied greatly on the manuscripts of the antique writers. Contemplation over published material on the subject and related artifacts has opened the way to new definitions and ideas. The study has also proved that while same similar surgical blades existed both during the antique and XXth century periods; as a result of scientific and technological development, same antique instruments came to extinct during the XXth century; and same others, though having the same shape, were to function differently. This study has shown the importance of the development of surgical blades in respect to the evolution of medical technology. However, the study has also proved that sufficient researches have not been made on the subject, which is an important field of medical history.

Purpose: Based on Greek and Latin sources the use of the urinary catheter in Western medicine between 200 and 1000 CE was reviewed., Materials and Methods: Computerized databank searches permitted the identification and analysis of ancient and early medieval texts that include material on the catheter., Results: Ten medical authors mentioned the catheter and its use. In the Byzantine world they include the encyclopedists Oribasius, Aetius and Paul of Aegina. The best known Latin author is Caelius Aurelianus. These writers often put together summaries of earlier works. Innovation or independent research was not easily found at a time during which neither anatomical autopsy nor experimentation was widely practiced., Conclusions: Old texts contain numerous instructions on how to skillfully use the catheter. As a technical achievement, it was independent of philosophical trends. Its primary indications, namely urinary retention, bladder stones and the administration of cures, changed little with time. As one of the oldest and most important instruments at the disposal of physicians, the history of the catheter should be known to every urologist.

Although the establishment of medical laboratory institutions was a continuous process that matured only after the 16th century, several attempts had already been made to attain a diagnosis by investigating bodily excrement. In the first part of our work, published in a previous issue of this journal, we presented data on urine, sperm, menses and stools. In this paper we present data on sputum, vomit, blood, sweat, and autopsies, thus completing the list of human materials used for laboratory examinations. All the data used are extracted from codices of Late Antiquity and Byzantium and translated by us. We did not study medical texts from the other great ancestors of Western medicine, namely Arabic and Jewish writings. From the texts cited, it is apparent that the lack of technological means was no obstacle for the doctor to create an "examinational" mind, i.e., to try to correlate the macroscopic findings in the excrement with the pathophysiological mechanism that induced them, solely with the use of the senses. This not only applies to the examination of urine, as is commonly assumed, but also to many other excrements of the upper and lower orifices of the body, as well as the human body as a whole.

It is a common belief that laboratory investigation processes were developed after the 16th century and that before that time no attempts were made to attain a diagnosis by investigating material coming from the human body. In this paper we present data extracted from Byzantine codices that support the following thesis: The idea of examining human excrement for diagnostic purposes has its roots in the Roman and Byzantine eras. The lack of technological means was no obstacle for the doctor to create an "examinational" mind, i.e., to try to correlate the macroscopic findings in the excrement with the pathophysiological mechanism that induced it, using only the human senses.

Between the first and the sixth century a single theological and several medical authors reported on the consumption of gladiator's blood or liver to cure epileptics. The origins of the sacred or apoplectic properties of blood of a slain gladiator, likely lie in Etruscan funeral rites. Although the influence of this religious background faded during the Roman Republic, the magical use of gladiators' blood continued for centuries. After the prohibition of gladiatorial combat in about 400 AD, an executed individual (particularly had he been beheaded) became the "legitimate" successor to the gladiator. Occasional indications in early modern textbooks on medicine as well as reports in the popular literature of the 19th and early 20th century document the existence of this ancient magical practice until modern times. Spontaneous recovery of some forms of epilepsy may be responsible for the illusion of therapeutic effectiveness and for the confirming statements by physicians who have commented on this cure.

The story of the development of civilisation and of humanity is at the base of science, medicine and otology in particular. The evolution of knowledge is better understood by dividing the story into chronological periods. Through primitive, archaic, hellenistic, byzantine, arabian, monastic, scholastic, Renaissance, modern and finally contemporary medicine, otology has progressively found its way. The key to progress is within man, in his conception of life and of the world around him. Otology will be affected by these different trends of thought and will find its place in medicine during the XIX Century, the XX Century being its most prolific period.

In reference to the presence of a list of abortifacients in a Greek manual of therapeutics or Arab origins (the Ephodia), the author reexamines the Oath of Hippocrates and its statement on abortion and abortifacients in the Hippocratic tradition as they were employed in Greek, Roman, Arab, and Byzantine cultures.