Splash Biography

The practice of modern medicine affects our lives everyday - from yearly check ups to getting a cast for a broken arm to the swine flu scare that overwhelmed the news in 2010. But have you ever wondered what the ancient Greeks and Romans did when they came down with an illness? They certainly did not get picked up in an ambulance for surgery. We will examine a span of Greek and Roman authors read in translation from Artemidorus to Hippocrates. Ancient medical practices covered a wide range of services including divining information from patients' dreams. As pre-medical students we want to explore the interplay between the principles of ancient and modern medicine so as to understand fully what ancient beliefs have influenced our health care system today, and which practices we should be glad we are not still taking advantage of as we step into our doctor's office.