Feet and fertility in the healing temples: a symbolic communication system between gods and men?

Cardiocentrism in ancient medicines

History of cardiology starts scientifically in 1628, when William Harvey (1578-1657) published his revolutionary book Extercitatio anatomica de motu cordis et sanguinis in animalibus, where he described "general" circulation, movements and functions of heart, heart valves, veins and arteries [1]. Consequently, all theories and practices of ancient medicines were reduced to superstitions. Historians relegated pre-Harveian cardiology to roughs notes, preventing a proper historical evaluation of many centuries of conceptions and practices. All the ancient civilizations shared the conviction that the heart was the biological and spiritual center of the body, the seat of emotions, mind, will, a vital energy produced by breathing and healing, and the soul. This cardiocentric view maintained a special role both in religion and in medicine across millennia from east to west, passing over cultural and scientific revolutions. Here, we will try to give a schematic account of medical beliefs on the heart from the most important pre-classic medicines. Some of them today show to have a kernel of truth. This demonstrates, at least, that history is a non-linear process and that intuitions or even truths, potentially useful for the present and scientific development, can re-emerge from the past.

Conceptualizing disabilities from antiquity to the middle ages: A historical-medical contribution

OBJECTIVE

This paper provides some conceptual guidelines for interpreting the phenomenon of impairment-disability between Antiquity and the Middle Ages from an historical-medical perspective. The paper illustrates application of these guidelines in an historical-medical reassessment of a published paleopathological case-study.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The skeletal remains of a woman who experienced bone fusion and osteoarthritis (Rome, VIII century AD) were selected. We first contextualize her impairments through a paleopathological approach, then locate her experience of disability and care within the cultural and social background to which she belongs.

RESULTS

This study illustrates the difficulty of reconstructing one consistent single model of disability.

CONCLUSIONS

The traditional idea of disability as a parameter of exclusion is not appropriate for every historical context.

SIGNIFICANCE

The paper attempts an integrated and transdisciplinary approach to historical reconstruction of lifestyle in the presence of impairments between late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages.

LIMITATIONS

The main research obstacle is the difficulty of going beyond documented Christian interpretation of disability and provision of welfare to identify detail of lived experience for individuals with impairments.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

The transdisciplinary historical-medical approach can be adapted for inclusion in any bioarchaeological study of impairment in historic times; future applications of this model will lead to its refinement.

How care holds humanity: the myth of Cura and theories of care

Modern medicine has often struggled to grasp the cultural aspects of interpersonal care. The medical humanities, on the other hand, have struggled to grasp the embodied, intimate character of care. In a recent appeal to the medical humanities, Julia Kristeva et al argue that care can be a point of crossing between these two 'ontological domains'. They evoke the myth of Cura, referring to previous utilisations by such diverse thinkers as Heidegger and Kleinman, as well as Kristeva's previous work. This study adds to these bodies of work by using the original text from Hyginus in much greater detail. Textual analysis, theoretical discussions and autotheoretical work unpack care as (1) a fundamental aspect of the human condition, (2) a holding-together of different domains of knowledge, (3) a withholding from these domains and (4) the site of intimate knowledge that both 'ontological domains' struggle to grasp.