SORANUS OF EPHESUS AND HIS INSIGHT INTO PERINATAL NEUROLOGY. 2261
| Autor: | T N K Raju |
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| Rok vydání: | 1996 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Pediatric Research. 39:380-380 |
| ISSN: | 1530-0447 0031-3998 |
| Popis: | In this Decade of the Brain, it is appropriate to trace the roots of our specialty. Of all the pillars of knowledge from antiquity,Soranus of Ephcsus stands out as one of the most eminent, learned, critical and lucid medical writers. This Greek physician practiced medicine in Rome at the times of emperors Trajan (98-117) and Hadrian(117-138). Of the more than 20 books ascribed to him, The Soul,(extant) was one of the most controversial, for here he describes the soul as“corporeal substance,” drawing the wrath of the later church elders. Perhaps this is one of the earliest instances of connecting human and animal `soul' (or consciousness) with the respective body (or brain?). In the centuries that followed, his other famous book Gynecology was also lost. However, over one-hundred-years of effort, scholars reconstructed it back into Greek. Soranus influenced obstetric and neonatal practice for 1500 years. In this poster, I will outline Soranus's keen insights into the CNS problems. I will describe the “methodist” sect to which he belonged and the story of the reconstruction of the Gynecology. Using excerpts from this book I will show Soranus's understanding of neurologic problems in women during pregnancy and in newborn infants. Examples include his descriptions of aphonia, distinctions between hysteria, epilepsy and preeclampsic seizures; a rational basis for resuscitation of a depressed newborn at birth; instructions for the delivery of fetuses with hydrocephalus, and distinctions between hydrocephalus and macrocephaly. He also discusses neonatal meningitis, and the effect of alcohol in the breast milk on infant behavior and seizures. These gems are from separate chapters on“Hydrocephalus;” “Resuscitation;”“Meningitis;“ Assessing Viability;” and “How to Recognize Infants Worth Raring.” The story of Soranus is an example of a man of immense capabilities and wisdom, who also believed in meticulous note-keeping with painstaking details. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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