history of medicine

image of white man with beard and mustache in robe — Aulus Cornelius Celsus

AULUS CORNELIUS CELSUS (25 B.C.-50 A.D.). De medicina. Venice: Philippus Pincius, for Benedictus Fontana, 1497.

Aulus Cornelius Celsus was a Roman encyclopaedist, known for his extant medical work, De Medicina, which is believed to be the only surviving section of a much larger encyclopedia. The De Medicina is the oldest medical document after the Hippocratic writings. It was written about 30 A.D. De Medicina was one of the first medical books printed after printing was invented.

Celsus has left the best account of Roman medicine; he was the first important medical historian. The manuscript of the De Medicina was lost during the Middle Ages and rediscovered in Milan in 1443. Celsus was probably not a professional physician–his work seems to be a compilation of the work of others–echoing the Greeks and especially Hippocrates. Nevertheless, it is an extremely able and interesting history of medicine and surgery, including descriptions of symptoms and treatment of disease as well as descriptions of plastic surgery, goiter operations, tonsillectomies, treatment of fractures, and dental procedures.

This Celsus volume is one of few volumes in the John Martin collection which has been completely digitized. View the book online: http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/jmrbr/id/6326/rec/1.

The John Martin Rare Book Room copy is in Latin and bound in Eighteenth-century half calf and floral boards.

The University of Iowa History of Medicine Society invites you to book talks and signings by Charles Driscoll, MD, author of Ring the Fire Bell: The Incredible Story of an Iowa Civil War Medical Center.

Thursday, September 27, 5:30-6:30pm talk, 6:30 book signing

2117 Medical Education Research Facility (MERF)

or

Friday, September 28, 12:00-1pm, 1pm book signing
Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS) Conference Room, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics C-44-A GH (Elevator B to 4th Floor)

During the Civil War, Iowa provided more soldiers per capita than any other Union state and most embarked from Keokuk, Iowa, via steamboat on the Mississippi River. Many returned the same route in a broken condition.

While bullets flew in the East, the war was no less intense in the West. There was a desperate need for a medical system capable of treating sick and injured soldiers. Enter the citizens of Keokuk, the doctors of Military General Hospital #1 of the Department of the Northwest, and the University of Iowa Medical School located in Keokuk at that time. These were heroes and heroines that fulfilled the need for expert and compassionate care.

For more information on the History of Medicine Society, or to donate, please see http://hosted.lib.uiowa.edu/histmed/index.html

Estes House, a hotel in Keokuk, Iowa was converted into an army hospital for soldiers of the Civil War, from April 17, 1862 to October 1, 1865.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program please call Janna Lawrence at 319-335-9871.