Paul of Aegina
Paul of AeginaorPaulus Aegineta(Greek:Παῦλος Αἰγινήτης;Aegina,c. 625– c. 690) was a 7th-centuryByzantine Greekphysicianbest known for writing themedical encyclopediaMedical Compendium in Seven Books.He is considered the “Father of Early Medical Writing”.[1]For many years in theByzantine Empire,his works contained the sum of allWesternmedical knowledge and was unrivaled in its accuracy and completeness.[2]
Life
[edit]Nothing is known about his life, except that he was born in the island ofAegina,and that he travelled a good deal, visiting, among other places, Alexandria.[3]He is sometimes calledIatrosophistesandPeriodeutes,a word which probably means a physician who travelled from place to place in the exercise of his profession. The exact time when he lived is not known; but, as he quotesAlexander of Tralles,[4]and is himself quoted byYahya ibn Sarafyun(Serapion the Elder),[5]it is probable thatAbu-al-Farajis correct in placing him in the latter half of the 7th century.[6]
Works
[edit]TheSudasays he wrote several medical works, of which the principal one is still extant, with no exact title, but is commonly calledMedical Compendium in Seven Books(Greek:Ἐπιτομῆς Ἰατρικῆς βιβλία ἑπτά,Epitomes iatrikes biblia hepta).[7]This work is chiefly a compilation from earlier writers;[8]indeed its Greek title proclaims that it is anepitomeof medicine, "epitomes iatrikes."
William Alexander Greenhillwrote that his reputation in the Islamic world seems to have been very great, and it is said that he was especially consulted by midwives, whence he received the name ofAl-kawabelior "the Accoucheur."[9]He is said by the Arabic writers to have written a work, "De Mulierum Morbis," and another, "De Puerulorum Vivendi Ratione atque Curatione." His great work was translated into Arabic byHunayn ibn Ishaq.[9]
The sixth book onsurgeryin particular was referenced inEuropeand theArab worldthroughout theMiddle Ages,[10]and is of special interest forsurgical history.The whole work in the original Greek was published inVenicein 1528, and another edition appeared inBaselin 1538. SeveralLatintranslations were published.[11]Its first full translation intoEnglish,was byFrancis Adamsin 1834.[12]
In this work he describes the operation to fix a hernia similar to modern techniques writing, "After making the incision to the extent of three fingers' breadth transversely across the tumor to the groin, and removing the membranes and fat, and the peritoneum being exposed in the middle where it is raised up to a point, let the knob of the probe be applied by which the intestines will be pressed deep down. The prominence, then, of the peritoneum, formed on each side of the knob of the probe, are to be joined together by sutures, and then we extract the probe, neither cutting the peritoneum nor removing the testicle, nor anything else, but curing it with applications used for fresh wounds."[13]
Honours
[edit]In 1753, botanistCarl LinnaeuspublishedAeginetia,which is a genus offlowering plantsbelonging to the familyOrobanchaceaeand native mostly to tropical Asia. It was named in Paul of Aegina's honour.[14]
Notes
[edit]- ^Güzey, Demet (2019-09-15).Mustard: A Global History.Reaktion Books.ISBN978-1-78914-175-7.
- ^Jütte, Robert (2008-05-12).Contraception: A History.Polity. p. 36.ISBN978-0-7456-3270-4.
- ^Smith 1870,p. 152 cites: Paul of Aegina, iv. 49, p. 526
- ^Smith 1870,p. 152 cites: Paul of Aegina, iii. 28, 78, pp. 447, 495, vii. 5, 11, 19, pp. 650, 660, 687
- ^Smith 1870,p. 152 cites: Ibn Sarafyun,Pract.vii. 9, pp. 73, 74, ed. Lugd. 1525
- ^Smith 1870,p. 152 cites: Abu-al-Faraj,Hist. Dynast.p. 114.
- ^"Digital German edition".University and State Library Düsseldorf.
- ^Smith 1870,p. 152.
- ^abSmith 1870,p. 153.
- ^Pormann 2004.
- ^One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Aegineta, Paulus".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 254.
- ^Aegineta 1834,p.v(The Editor's Prefix).
- ^Aegineta, Paulus (1921–24).Medical Epitome.Leipzig and Berlin: Heiberg. pp. 9–17.
- ^"Aeginetia".Plants of the World Online.Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.Retrieved20 May2020.
References
[edit]- Aegineta, Paulus (1834).Adams, Francis(ed.).The Medical Works of Paulus Aegineta, the Greek Physician: Tr. Into English; with a Copious Commentary Containing a Comprehensive View of the Knowledge Possessed by the Greeks, Romans, and Arabians, on All Subjects Connected with Medicine and Surgery.Vol. 1 (First ed.). Welsh, Treuttel, Würtz.(Paulus (Aegineta_; Adams, Francis (1834).The Medical Works of Paulus Aegineta, the Greek Physician: Tr. Into English; with a Copious Commentary Containing a Comprehensive View of the Knowledge Possessed by the Greeks, Romans, and Arabians, on All Subjects Connected with Medicine and Surgery.)
- Keyser, Paul T.; Irby-Massie, Georgia L. (2012-11-12).Encyclopedia of Ancient Natural Scientists: The Greek Tradition and its Many Heirs.Routledge.ISBN9781134298020.Retrieved19 October2013.
- Pormann, Peter E. (2004).The Oriental Tradition of Paul of Aegina's Pragmateia.BRILL.ISBN9789004137578.Retrieved1 December2012.
- al-Zahrāwī, Abū al-Qāsim Khalaf ibn ʻAbbās (1973).مقالة في العمل باليد: A Definitive Edition of the Arabic Text.University of California Press.ISBN9780520015326.Retrieved1 December2012.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Smith, William,ed. (1870)."Paulus Aegineta".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.Vol. 3. pp. 146, 152, 153.
Further reading
[edit]- Aegineta, Paulus (1844).Adams, Francis(ed.).The seven books of Paulus Ægineta (in 3 volumes).Vol. 1 (Second ed.). Printed for the Sydenham Society.(Paulus (Aegineta0 (1844).The Seven Books of Paulus Ægineta.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)) - Aegineta, Paulus (1846).Adams, Francis(ed.).The seven books of Paulus Ægineta.Vol. 2 (Second ed.). Printed for the Sydenham Society.(Paulus (Aegineta); Adams, Francis (1846).The Seven Books of Paulus Ægineta.)
- Aegineta, Paulus (1847).Adams, Francis(ed.).The seven books of Paulus Ægineta.Vol. 3 (Second ed.). Printed for the Sydenham Society.(Paulus, Aegineta (1847).The Seven Books of Paulus Aegineta: Translated from the Greek. With a Commentary Embracing a Complete View of the Knowledge Possessed by the Greeks, Romans, and Arabians on All Subjects Connected with Medicine and Surgery by Francis Adams. III.)
- Heiberg, Johan Ludvig,ed. (1921–1924)."Heiberg'sCMG' Greek text (Index entry IX) ".The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.RetrievedMay 20,2012.
- Savage-Smith, Emilie(7 December 2011) [2004]."Islamic Medical Manuscripts at the National Library of Medicine: Bio-Bibliographies: Paul of Aegina".U.S. National Library of Medicine.
