Surgical Insrtuments
Analysis
This collection of instruments was found in the 1770s when the Spaniard Francesco La Vega cleared the villa, which later was named as the House of the Surgeon. These forty medical instruments were made of either steel or bronze and are relatively similar to the medical tools that are used in modern society today. This includes forceps, catheters, needles, tweezers and scalpels. The fresco portrays how the Ancient Roman people could possibly have treated a battle wound.
Developed Conclusions
These surgical tools are unique because they are the best surviving example of what medicinal instruments would be available to people during the first century AD. These tools have been preserved for centuries under volcanic pumice and ash; this has protected these instruments from weather damage, and also the advancement in medicine that would mean the abandonment of these tools. The methods of Roman medicine were based on trial and error, due to the fact that there were no laws regarding the practise of medicine, nor were there any schools that taught the practise of medicine[1]. Because of this, the intent in Roman medicine was to prevent rather than treat, and Roman surgeons learnt as they practised, gaining experience every time they treated a patient. The medical efforts of the Romans have been considered quite advanced; this has been proven by the insight given from the surgical instruments uncovered in the excavations of Pompeii. These instruments are strikingly similar to modern surgical instruments and many of them were used for the same purpose that today’s surgeons use them for[2]. The medicinal practises of the Ancient Romans was so advanced that it wasn’t surpassed until the nineteenth century[3]. The preservation of this kit of 40 surgical instruments has given researchers the opportunity to accurately compare them to modern tools. This kit also shows the conditions, of which typical Roman surgeons had to endure during the first century AD. Much of the focus for Roman medicine was on damage to the human body during battle; the Roman Empire’s soldiers were offered the most effective treatment as they were considered a high value, at the time of the Mt. Vesuvius eruption, medical practitioners were well experienced in body repair such as bone setting.
[1] http://www.mpm.edu/research-collections/artifacts/greco-roman-medical-equipment-reproductions/pompeii-and-greco-roman-m
[2] http://museum.wa.gov.au/pompeii/daily-life/medicine
[3] http://museum.wa.gov.au/pompeii/daily-life/medicine
This collection of instruments was found in the 1770s when the Spaniard Francesco La Vega cleared the villa, which later was named as the House of the Surgeon. These forty medical instruments were made of either steel or bronze and are relatively similar to the medical tools that are used in modern society today. This includes forceps, catheters, needles, tweezers and scalpels. The fresco portrays how the Ancient Roman people could possibly have treated a battle wound.
Developed Conclusions
These surgical tools are unique because they are the best surviving example of what medicinal instruments would be available to people during the first century AD. These tools have been preserved for centuries under volcanic pumice and ash; this has protected these instruments from weather damage, and also the advancement in medicine that would mean the abandonment of these tools. The methods of Roman medicine were based on trial and error, due to the fact that there were no laws regarding the practise of medicine, nor were there any schools that taught the practise of medicine[1]. Because of this, the intent in Roman medicine was to prevent rather than treat, and Roman surgeons learnt as they practised, gaining experience every time they treated a patient. The medical efforts of the Romans have been considered quite advanced; this has been proven by the insight given from the surgical instruments uncovered in the excavations of Pompeii. These instruments are strikingly similar to modern surgical instruments and many of them were used for the same purpose that today’s surgeons use them for[2]. The medicinal practises of the Ancient Romans was so advanced that it wasn’t surpassed until the nineteenth century[3]. The preservation of this kit of 40 surgical instruments has given researchers the opportunity to accurately compare them to modern tools. This kit also shows the conditions, of which typical Roman surgeons had to endure during the first century AD. Much of the focus for Roman medicine was on damage to the human body during battle; the Roman Empire’s soldiers were offered the most effective treatment as they were considered a high value, at the time of the Mt. Vesuvius eruption, medical practitioners were well experienced in body repair such as bone setting.
[1] http://www.mpm.edu/research-collections/artifacts/greco-roman-medical-equipment-reproductions/pompeii-and-greco-roman-m
[2] http://museum.wa.gov.au/pompeii/daily-life/medicine
[3] http://museum.wa.gov.au/pompeii/daily-life/medicine