Diagnoses in Assyrian and Babylonian medicine : ancient sources, translations, and modern medical analyses / translated and with commentary by JoAnn Scurlock, Burton R. Andersen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Scurlock, Jo Ann, 1953-

Contributor:

Andersen, Burton R., 1932-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Medicine, Assyro-Babylonian.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (912 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Urbana : University of Illinois Press, 2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

To date, the pathbreaking medical contributions of the early Mesopotamians have been only vaguely understood. Due to the combined problems of an extinct language, gaps in the archeological record, the complexities of pharmacy and medicine, and the dispersion of ancient tablets throughout the museums of the world, it has been nearly impossible to get a clear and comprehensive view of what medicine was really like in ancient Mesopotamia.The collaboration of medical expert Burton R. Andersen and cuneiformist JoAnn Scurlock makes it finally possible to survey this collected corpus and discern magic from experimental medicine in Ashur, Babylon, and Nineveh. Diagnoses in Assyrian and Babylonian Medicine is the first systematic study of all the available texts, which together reveal a level of medical knowledge not matched again until the nineteenth century A.D. Over the course of a millennium, these nations were able to develop tests, prepare drugs, and encourage public sanitation. Their careful observation and recording of data resulted in a description of symptoms so precise as to enable modern identification of numerous diseases and afflictions.

Contents:

""Cover""; ""Title Page""; ""Copyright""; ""Contents""; ""Acknowledgments""; ""Concordance of Sigla""; ""Translator's Notes""; ""Introduction""; ""1. The Ancient Mesopotamian Context""; ""2. General Health and Public Health Practices""; ""3. Infectious Diseases""; ""4. Sexually Transmitted Disease (STDs)""; ""5. Genitourinary Tract Diseases""; ""6. Gastrointestinal Diseases""; ""7. Metabolic and Nutritional Diseases""; ""8. Heart, Circulatory System, and Lungs""; ""9. Eyes, Ears, and Nose""; ""10. Skin and Hair""; ""11. Bones and Joints""; ""12. Obstetrics and Gynecology""; ""13. Neurology""

""14. Trauma and Shock""""15. Poisons""; ""16. Mental Illness""; ""17. Pediatrics""; ""18. Dental and Oral Diseases""; ""19. Ancient Etiologies: The Naming of Disease Patterns""; ""20. Prognostics""; ""Conclusion""; ""Unsolved Puzzles Appendix""; ""Chart Showing the Arrangement of Entries""; ""Notes""; ""Bibliography""; ""Indexes""

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-252-09238-4

1-283-99167-5

OCLC:

828736890