Cornelius Celsus—ancient encyclopedist, surgeon–scientist, or master of surgery?

Abstract

PurposeThe Roman nobleman Cornelius Celsus (25 BC–AD 50) wrote a general encyclopedia (De Artibus) dealing with several subjects, among which some had medical content (De Medicina), an eight-volume compendium, including two books about surgery (VII + VIII). It is the most significant medical document following the Hippocratic writings. In 1443, Pope Nicolas V rediscovered the work of Cornelius Celsus, despite it having been forgotten for several centuries, and it was the first medical and surgical book to be printed (AD 1478). Up until the nineteenth century, 60 editions were published in Latin as well as numerous translations in European languages, the last of which was a French translation in 1876. While Celsus’ work is the best account of Roman medicine as practiced in the first century of the Christian era and its influence persisted until the nineteenth century, there is controversy as to whether Cornelius Celsus himself actually practiced as a surgeon or was only an encyclopedist who collected in the Latin language the medical knowledge available at that time.MethodsThe detailed analysis of the surgical techniques described by Celsus, the modifications tailored to the findings, possible complications, detailed description of pre- and postsurgical activities, give the general impression that he himself practiced surgery at least within his family and among his dependents. In addition, his descriptions give a clear insight into the astonishingly high standard of surgical knowledge available at the time of Celsus.ResultsHis work thus reflects the state of knowledge of his time, which is why he also assumed the role of teacher and scientist. As such, his meets the modern criteria addressed to a surgeon–scientist, who apart from the practical surgical activity, also had a role as teacher of surgery and scientist. Whether Cornelius Celsus had inaugurated a new surgical technique and was the first to describe that, and as such can be described as a master of surgery, cannot be corroborated.ConclusionCornelius Celsus deserves a firm place in the history of surgery because with his publication De Medicina, Book VII + VIII, he has preserved Roman surgical knowledge in the first century of the Christian era and, thanks to the use of Latin in medicine and surgery, this continues to be retained up till the present day.

Why we do what we do. A brief analysis of cancer therapies

“…The Roman surgeon Aulus Cornelius Celsus (25 BC - 50 AD) in his general encyclopedia De Artibus wrote: “ We reject any treatment of the latter stages, be it by caustic methods, cauterization or the scalpel. Any aggressive measure would only irritate the process and, even if the surgeon succeeded in healing the operation, the disease would inevitably recur; successful treatment would only be possible in the first stage ” (Celsus, 30; Kockerling et al, 2013[ 34 ]). It is now clear that cancer is not an anatomical condition and therefore, anatomical therapeutic strategies such as surgery or radiotherapy can only cure a small proportion of cancer patients; for the vast majority, these treatments are only palliative.…”

Four Thousand Years of Concepts Relating to Rabies in Animals and Humans, Its Prevention and Its Cure

“…Similar incantations to that found at Nippur / Nuffar were spoken in Greek-speaking Egypt around the 3rdC CE [ 41 ]. Along with Aulus Cornelius Celsus in his De Medicina (published between 18 and 39 CE in Rome) [ 42 , 43 ], the only author who may have had some impact on the replication of viral inocula in wounds made by rabid animals, was Pedianus Dioscorides (ca. 40–90 A.D.), of Anazarba in Cilicia, founded by the Assyrians but a then Roman city, now in Adana Province of southern Turkey.…”

History of Varicocele Surgery

“…Также Celsus был первым, кто разделил два понятия «varicocele» (расширение поверхностных вен) и «cirsocele» (расширение глубоких вен). В «De Medicina VII» было описано 3 вида вмешательства: для мошоночного (поверхностного) варикоцеле хирург должен был использовать прижигание расширенных вен, стараясь не задеть соседние структуры и ткани; в более тяжелых случаях, следовало лигировать расширенные сосуды; а если «varix» поражал глубокие вены яичка, то рекомендовалось удаление такой гонады, потому что она считалась полностью бесполезной [2,3,4,5,52].…”