Stab Wounds Roman physicians tried their best to help treat battlefield wounds. Celsus describes treatments early Roman doctors used for battlefield abdominal wounds. Celsus describes that doctors should first observe the color of the intestines to see that if they are “...livid or pallid or black…” in which case treatment is impossible. If the large intestine is found to be cut he says treatment is unlikely to be successful but suggests suturing the intestine. Treatment of abdominal wounds should occur quickly and for fear exposed intestines would dry out. Celsus suggests adding water to the intestines to prevent this. The Romans also knew about the delicate care needed for such complex wounds. Assistants with surgical hooks were used to stitch up large abdominal wounds. They were used to help separate the margins of the abdomen because both the inner membrane and the surface skin needed to be sutured with two sets of stitches because it could be broken easily. The Romans applied a variety of ointments and dressings to these wounds. Celsus describes 34 different ones. Healing sanctuaries A physician's overall goal was to help those afflicted by disease or injury as best as they could; the physician's credibility rested on their successful cures. Of course they could not reliably cure ailments; sometimes the best they could hope for was that their treatments did not worsen their patients' problems. Many physicians were criticised by their peers for their inability to cure an apparently simple illness. Gaps in physician-provided care were filled with several types of supernatural healthcare; the Romans believed in the power of divine messages and healing. There have been descriptions of many gods from multiple religions that dealt with destruction or healing. For example, in 431 BCE, in response to the plague running rampant all over the country of Italy, the temple of the Apollo Medicus was accredited with an influence of healing. Scattered across Greco-Roman and Egyptian history are descriptions of healing sanctuaries dedicated to the various healing gods. Sick or injured Romans would often flock to temples dedicated to Asclepius, the god of healing, as it was believed that the god actually inhabited the sanctuary and would provide divine healing to supplicants. The process itself was simple: the sick person would give a specified donation to the temple, and then undergo a process called "incubation" in which they would relocate to a special room where the god would be able to contact them, often through dreams in which the god would either prescribe care or provide it themselves. Often the type of cure prescribed would be rather similar to the actual medical practices of physicians of the time. This type of supernatural care did not conflict with mainstream healthcare. Physicians would often recommend that patients go to a healing sanctuary when they were afflicted by an illness that the physician could not cure. This allowed the reputation of the physician to remain unharmed, as it was seen more as a referral than as a failure. Colostrum Colostrum is the first form of milk produced by lactating mammals. Both Greek and Roman medical texts prescribe the use of a variety of substances, of varying medical and religious significance. Several substances, such as sulfur, asphalt and animal excrement, were associated with the practice of human purification. The practice of using a woman's breast milk as a<unk>  has very early roots in Egyptian medical texts. In several such texts there are references to the use of the milk of a woman who has given birth to a male child. This practice is said to be based on depictions in several statues of the goddess Isis breastfeeding her son, the god Horus. Both Egyptian and Greek texts state that the milk used for<unk> l purposes should be strictly from a woman who has borne a male child. The treatments using breast milk differed vastly between Greek and Roman culture. In Greek<unk> , milk was very rarely actually consumed. Instead, it was used in recipes for ointments and washes that would treat burns and other skin-related maladies. These treatments were exclusively given to women, as women's bodies were viewed as "polluted" in some sense. In stark contrast, the Roman use of colostrum was more widespread and varied. Stories suggest that adults drinking breast milk was viewed as socially acceptable, but was not common unless used for treatment. The milk was instead ingested by the patient, and the treatment was given to both men and women, which then allowed the views of the female body to be viewed as analogous compared to their male peers, rather than as the opposites they have been for centuries before. In general, while not every single fear about the changing medical views of female physiology went away, the Romans then seemed less concerned about the so-called "pollution" of a woman's body and therefore need to have the women have special requirements needed for "purification." It has been shown in modern times that having patients ingest mother's milk (or colostrum) is actually a rather effective treatment due to the benefits associated with it. For example, the use of colostrum has been shown to prevent the growth of Staphylococcus bacteria, which are a known cause of several types of infection. Colostrum is about half as effective as some antibiotics prescribed to patients today. Colostrum is also effective against the bacterium chlamydia. Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted disease in which some subtypes of it can cause trachoma, which is a major source of cause for severe sight impairment, if not blindness. Colostrum was a reasonably effective treatment for Chlamydia in the absence of other antibiotics.
Medicine in ancient Rome
Food and diet in ancient medicine
Cunning folk
Women medical practitioners in Early Modern Europe
Arris and Gale Lecture
African Americans and birth control
High Plains Doctor: Healing on the Tibetan Plateau
Blind man of Bethsaida