Oribase

Oribase (v. 325 - v. 395) is a Greek doctor of the 4th century of our era. It is especially famous for its compilations including/understanding the whole of medical knowledge of its time.

Life of Oribase

Oribase was born into 325 with Pergame, like Galien. It leaves to Alexandria to make its studies of medicine. He is a friend of the emperor Julien the Apostate (361-363).

He is called into 355 at the court of Constantinople by Julien of which he becomes the doctor before reaching the functions of questeur of the palate. He follows it in his military campaigns as a Gaulle. With died of Julien, it is exiled by its successors Valens and Valentinien {{Ier}} But its fame makes it recall to Constantinople. He dies towards 395.

Works

Oribase publishes at the request of Julien the medical Collections , which count 70 books. The Collections are a kind of encyclopedia including/understanding the whole of anatomical and physiological medical knowledge of the time, as well as the most effective techniques in the field of therapeutic and of pharmacology. They have an immense richness. They are made up almost exclusively of extracts of Galien but one finds there also the writings of the famous doctors of Antiquity until the 4th century accompanied by remarks often relevant of Oribase. More half of this monumental treaty was unfortunately lost. There remain to us indeed only the books 1-15, some extracts of book 16, books 24-25, 43-50, like several fragments indicated like libri incerti . Oribase also wrote a summary of its Collections for his/her son Eustathios, itself doctor: the first, Synopsis AD Eustathium , in 9 books, is a summary of the major treaty. This work has as of its publication an enormous success. It is translated into Latin as from the 7th century.

Oribase writes also a second summary in 4 books, Libri AD Eunapium of which the goal is to help the profane readers in the event of medical emergency. The Eclogae medicamentorum are probably chapters very shortened at the end of the Collections. These treaties having arrived us in their entirety, enable us to have the idea of the contents of the lost parts of the principal work.

The three principal treaties of Oribase were translated into Arabic (the translation did not reach us) and into Latin as of the 5th century. They are taught until the 17th century at the medical college of Paris. The Latin translations which reached us were studied and published most recently per H. Morland.

Anecdotes

In its medical treaty, Oribase makes a broad place with therapeutic balneal. This very important work takes again the principal regulations of its famous predecessors, and it makes us “plunge” in the middle same of ancient medicine.

Oribase writes a comment of works of Hippocrates; it makes yawn a movement of the force expultrice; it gives to the yawn an important place in the fevers; he also explains why one hears less distinctly during the yawns.

See too

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