Ancient Roman Medicine Research Paper

Medical Practices in Ancient Rome The Ancient Roman civilization was one of the strongest in all of history. In medicine, however, the Romans were striving for prevention rather than trying to find a cure. The Romans were greatly influenced by the Greeks, although many of their practices were very different (“A History of Medicine: What is Ancient Roman Medicine?”). Many great physicians also lived in these times. As for actual medicine, Roman doctors usually prescribed prayer or herbal concoctions (“Medicine in Ancient Rome”). The purpose of this paper is to inform readers about ancient Roman medicine. The Romans knew that in order to prevent illness, they needed to promote public health. Some wealthy Romans had baths in their homes. The Romans built public baths all over Rome for the people who couldn’t afford their own bath. These baths

These doctors had been captured in war and were taken back to Rome to work. Greek doctors would later come to Rome willingly because they could make a better living there than they could in Greek cities (“Medicine and Surgery”). The Romans used the basics of Greek medicine, but they put a spiritual twist on it. While the Greeks would just observe a patient and decide what treatment they needed, the Romans would often pray for a cure or offer gifts to the gods of healing (J Walsh, “Roman Medicine”). One practice that was adopted by the Romans was the theory of the Four Humors. This theory states that if you have too much or too little of any of the four humors, blood, yellow bile, black bile, or phlegm, it caused a disability or disease (“Humorism”). The Romans also adopted the teachings of the Father of Medicine, Hippocrates. Hippocrates was born in Greece (Elliott 25). He was the first person to figure out the disease was due to a natural cause, not a spiritual one. Hippocrates was a very brilliant man. He knew what his limits were and knew when to accept failure (Elliott