Hippocratic views in the treatment of rectal prolapse
| Journal | Volume 80 - 2017 |
| Issue | Fasc.3 - Case series |
| Author(s) | G. Tsoucalas, T.G. Papaioannou, G.V. Papatheodoridis, M. Karamanou |
| Full article |
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| (1) University Institute of History of Medicine, Claude Bernard University, Lyon, France ; (2) Biomedical Engineering Unit, 1st Department of Cardiology, Hippokration Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece ; (3) Department of Gastroenterology, Laiko General Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece ; (4) University Institute of History of Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland. |
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Known since antiquity, rectal prolapse was first studied systematically by Hippocrates (460-377 BC) who recognized the predisposing factors and proposed several therapeutic approaches such as defecation positions, manual retraction and specific herbal or mineral based anti-haemorrhagic and pain-killing poultices. Hippocratic medicine avoided invasive surgical procedures probably due to a lack of knowledge in human anatomy. However, Hippocrates' views astonishingly lasted in time, presenting similarities to current medical theories on rectal prolapse. (Acta gastroenterol. belg., 2017, 80, 411-415). |
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© Acta Gastro-Enterologica Belgica. PMID 29560672 |
