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Biomedical subjects

J Lascaratos

Publications and source records attributed to J Lascaratos.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Alexander the Great's relationship with alcohol.

AIMS: This study sought to clarify if Alexander the Great indulged pathologically in alcohol and whether it contributed to his death. DESIGN: The texts of the historians Diodorus of Sicily, Plutarch, Arrian, Curtius Rufus, Athenaeus, Aelian and Justin were studied, with their information concerning wine consumption by Macedonians, and especially Alexander, and were evaluated. The surviving historical texts, all later than Alexander's epoch, are based on a series of contemporary histories and especially on the 'Royal Journals', an official diary written in the imperial court. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS: Alexander consumed large quantities of undiluted wine periodically, reaching pathological intoxication. However, the existing data do not provide convincing evidence that Alexander the Great manifested abuse of or dependence on alcohol according to DSM-IV or ICD-10 criteria and it seems unlikely that alcohol was involved in his untimely death.

Alcoholic Intoxication↗
PubMed2003

Oribasius (fourth century) and early Byzantine perinatal nutrition.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the study is the investigation of perinatal nutrition in the early Byzantine period. METHODS: The original Greek language works of the celebrated physician of the fourth century, Oribasius, were studied. RESULTS: The first Byzantine author who studied perinatal nutrition, Oribasius, provided his own concepts about the topic, focusing on the suitable choice of wet nurse and evaluation of the quality of the milk. His research proves that physicians from early Byzantine times were greatly interested in perinatal nutrition. He was aware of the knowledge of eminent ancient Greek and Roman physicians, whose extracts he quoted and opinions he generally followed. CONCLUSIONS: The study concludes that concepts of perinatal nutrition in the early Byzantine period followed those of the Hippocratic, Hellenistic, and Roman periods. The early Byzantine physicians then influenced later Byzantine and Arab physicians, and afterward, their research was introduced to European medicine.

Breast Feeding↗
PubMed2002

A tragic case of complicated labour in early Byzantium (404 A.D.).

OBJECTIVES: Presentation and comment on the problematic delivery of the Byzantine empress Eudoxia's stillborn child. STUDY DESIGN: The original Greek language Byzantine histories, chronicles and hagiographical sources were investigated. Comparisons were then made of the knowledge of obstetrics among contemporary and ancient physicians. RESULTS: The case of Eudoxia's delivery is described in various literary sources with details regarding the fatal clinical picture of the parturient after the embryo's death. The study of early and contemporary medical texts proves that in similar cases conservative treatment was preferred but embryotomy was followed in the event of failure. CONCLUSIONS: Eudoxia's labour represents a characteristic paradigm of the difficulties involved in the confrontation of complicated deliveries in mediaeval times, often resulting in the death of both the mother and embryo. The treatments follow the ancient Hippocratic, Hellenistic and Roman traditions and influence medieval European medicine, thus constituting significant roots of obstetrics.

Byzantium↗
PubMed2001

Surgery on varices in Byzantine times (324-1453 CE).

OBJECTIVES: The purposes of this article are to describe Byzantine varicose vein surgery and to note its influence on the development of these operations after that time. A study and analysis of the original texts of the Byzantine physicians, written in Greek and containing the now mostly lost knowledge of the earlier Hellenistic and Roman periods, was undertaken. RESULTS: The Byzantines paid special attention to varicosis surgery from the early period of the empire. The famous fourth-century (ce) physician Oribasius meticulously described a number of surgical methods of confronting varicosis, some of which were derived from the texts of earlier Greek surgeons, to which he added his own keen observations. Later, eminent Byzantine physicians developed these techniques further and evaluated their usefulness. CONCLUSIONS: The study of Byzantine medical texts proves that several surgical techniques on varicosis were widely practiced in Byzantine times and were derived from the work of ancient Greek and Roman physicians. The techniques described had a great influence on western medieval and later European surgery, thus constituting significant roots of modern angiology.

Byzantium↗
PubMed2001

Is consent in medicine a concept only of modern times?

Although the issue of consent in medical practice has grown immensely in recent years, and it is generally believed that historical cases are unknown, our research amongst original ancient Greek and Byzantine historical sources reveals that it is a very old subject which ancient philosophers and physicians have addressed. Plato, in ancient Greece, connected consent with the quality of a free person and even before him, Hippocrates had advocated seeking the patient's cooperation in order to combat the disease. In Alexander the Great's era and later on in Byzantine times, not only was the consent of the patient necessary but physicians were asking for even more safeguards before undertaking a difficult operation. Our study has shown that from ancient times physicians have at least on occasion been driven to seek the consent of their patient either because of respect for the patient's autonomy or from fear of the consequences of their failure.

Byzantium↗
PubMed2001

Sperm disorders according to the Byzantine medical writers (4th - 14th centuries).

Research in the works of the Byzantine medical authors brought to light significant information concerning disorders of the sperm as causes of infertility. The eminent Byzantine physicians give detailed accounts about the anatomy of the genitals, the creation of the sperm and its disorders as regards its quantity, quality, appearance, consistency, colour, ejaculation etc. According to those authors, the disorders of the sperm are due to, dietetic reasons (a list of foods and drugs influencing the production of sperm is referred to by many Byzantine physicians); constitution and age of the patient; obesity; diseases, such as "gonorrhea" (involuntary loss of sperm), oneirogmus, stenosis of the spermiducts, hypospadias and atrophy of the genitals; iatrogenic reasons (traumatic cutting off of the spermiducts during a lithotomy); castration. These concepts were based on the works of the ancient Greek physicians of the Hippocratic, Hellenistic and Roman eras. However, such ideas, enriched by the personal experience of the Byzantine doctors, were transmitted to and influenced Islamic and European medicine and thus the rest of the world.

Byzantium↗
PubMed2000

Fatal wounding of the Byzantine Emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363 A.D.): approach to the contribution of ancient surgery.

Byzantine surgery flourished from the early stages of the Byzantine empire (324-1453 A.D.). The first great Byzantine physicians, among the most eminent being Oribasius from Pergamun (fourth century), not only compiled anthologies of the works of ancient Greek, Alexandrian, and Roman physicians but added their own personal practical experience and observations. The circumstances surrounding, and the treatment of, the fatal abdominal wounding of one of the most renowned emperors of Byzantium, Julian the Apostate (361-363 A.D.), is examined based on historical accounts unknown in the broader medical bibliography, namely, the histories and chronicles of Byzantine writers. From this analysis it can be concluded that the emperor's physician, Oribasius, in all probability, applied knowledge of ancient Greek and Roman surgery to save his famous patient. The techniques of "gastrorrhaphy" and pharmaceutical confrontation of the wound in that era, adopted later by the surgeons of the Medieval West, seem to constitute noteworthy roots of modern surgery.

Abdominal Injuries↗
PubMed2000

Child sexual abuse: historical cases in the Byzantine empire (324-1453 A.D.).

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article is the presentation and brief analysis of some historical cases, unknown in the broader medical bibliography, of child sexual abuse in Byzantine Society (324-1453 A.D.). METHOD: The original texts of the Byzantine historians, chroniclers and ecclesiastical authors, written in the Greek language, were studied in order to locate instances of child sexual abuse. RESULTS: Although the punishment provided by the laws and the church for cases of child sexual abuse were very strict, a number of instances of rapes under cover of premature marriages, even in the imperial families, are revealed in these texts. Furthermore, cases of child prostitution, pederasty, and incest are included in the historical texts and some contemporary authors confirmed the presence of many such cases in all classes of Byzantine society. CONCLUSION: The research of original Byzantine literature disclosed many instances of child sexual abuse in all social classes even in the mediaeval Byzantine society which was characterized by strict legal and religious prohibitions.

Byzantium↗
PubMed2000

Surgery on the larynx and pharynx in Byzantium (AD 324-1453): early scientific descriptions of these operations.

We present the techniques of various operations on the larynx and pharynx (incision of abscesses of the tonsils, tonsillectomy, tracheotomy, uvulectomy, and removal of foreign bodies) found in the Greek texts of Byzantine physicians. The techniques of these operations were the first to be so meticulously described and were compiled from the texts, now lost, of the ancient Greek physicians. These medical texts, which followed and enriched the Hippocratic, Hellenistic, Roman, and Galenic medical traditions, later influenced medieval European surgery, either directly through Latin translations or indirectly through works of Arab physicians.

Greece↗
PubMed2000

The epilepsy of Emperor Michael IV, Paphlagon (1034-1041 A.D.): accounts of Byzantine historians and physicians.

PURPOSE: Presentation of epilepsy suffered by Byzantine Emperor Michael IV, Paphlagon (who reigned from 1034 to 1041 A.D.) and the attitude of his contemporary society to his disorder. METHODS: Research into the accounts of Byzantine historians and chroniclers referring to the case of the emperor and Byzantine medical texts revealing the opinion of official medicine about the disorder. RESULTS: Byzantine historians and chroniclers provide detailed clinical descriptions of the seizures of Emperor Michael IV. Nearly all, expressing popular opinion, considered his disease to be demonic possession that constituted a form of divine punishment for the emperor's adultery and act of murder; his royal entourage continually attempted euphemistically to present this condition as a psychic disease. On the contrary, research into Byzantine medical texts reveals that the physicians, already from the 4th century, following Hippocratic tradition, believed that epilepsy was primarily a brain-related disorder and based their treatment on this etiological principle. CONCLUSIONS: From the study of the Byzantine histories and chronicles, it can be deduced that Emperor Michael IV, Paphlagon, suffered from generalized tonic-clonic epileptic seizures. Despite the concept then held by well-educated Byzantine doctors, who considered epilepsy a brain disorder, information indicates the deep prejudices of his social environment.

Byzantium↗
PubMed1999

Abandonment of terminally ill patients in the Byzantine era. An ancient tradition?

Our research on the texts of the Byzantine historians and chroniclers revealed an apparently curious phenomenon, namely, the abandonment of terminally ill emperors by their physicians when the latter realised that they could not offer any further treatment. This attitude tallies with the mentality of the ancient Greek physicians, who even in Hippocratic times thought the treatment and care of the terminally ill to be a challenge to nature and hubris to the gods. Nevertheless, it is a very curious attitude in the light of the concepts of the Christian Byzantine physicians who, according to the doctrines of the Christian religion, should have been imbued with the spirit of philanthropy and love for their fellowmen. The meticulous analysis of three examples of abandonment of Byzantine emperors, and especially that of Alexius I Comnenus, by their physicians reveals that this custom, following ancient pagan ethics, in those times took on a ritualised form without any significant or real content.

Byzantium↗
PubMed1999

From the roots of otology: diseases of the ear and their treatment in Byzantine times (324-1453 A.D.).

HYPOTHESIS: The aim of this study is to present the therapeutic methods and surgical techniques in diseases of the ear during Byzantine times (324-1453 A.D.). BACKGROUND/METHODS: The original Greek language texts of the Byzantine medical writers were studied to research early otologic knowledge of symptomatology, conservative treatments, and surgical confrontation of diseases of the ear. RESULTS: A considerable number of conservative treatments for many otologic conditions were identified; these therapies were especially based on herbs, animal and mineral substances applied either as eardrops, clysters, poultices, or by using special instruments and apparatus. Among these were identified otitis, rupture of the eardrum, hemorrhage from the ears, deficiency of hearing and deafness, vertigo, tinnitus, and earwax. Furthermore, in these early texts, there were also described some surgical techniques in cases of atresia of the external auditory canal, of defects in or lack of the pinna, and for removal of foreign bodies and fleshy tumors. Some of the earliest hearing aids were also mentioned. CONCLUSIONS: From the study of the original works of Byzantine writers, it is evident that numerous treatments and surgical techniques relating to otology were practiced; these were derived not only from compilation of knowledge obtained from the ancient Greek medical sources, a considerable part of which are now lost, but also enriched by Byzantine physicians' personal experience. This knowledge influenced medieval European medicine and, through it, that of the rest of the world.

Byzantium↗
PubMed1999

Ophthalmology in Byzantium (10th - 15th centuries).

The study and analysis of the Byzantine texts after the 9th century, especially those of Theophanes and Ioannes Actuarius, reveals that the ophthalmology of this epoch follows in general lines the knowledge of the earlier ancient Greek and Byzantine physicians, adding, however, remarkable clarifications as to differential diagnosis and treatment. Nevertheless, there is some noteworthy information in the historical and hagiographical texts that indicate the high level of the practice of this specialty in Byzantine hospitals (xenones) in the middle and late periods.

Byzantium↗