Early evidence of cranial surgical intervention in Abdera, Greece : A nexus to on head wounds of the hippocratic corpus
Part of : Mediterranean archaeology & archaeometry : international journal ; Vol.6, No.1, 2006, pages 5-18
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5-18
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Articles
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Abstract:
This paper presents the case study of a cranial surgical intervention involving head traumaat the right occipito-parietal region carried out during the second half of the 7th century B.C.the Archaic Period, on an adult female individual, a member of a larger group of colonists fromKlazomenai, [one of the twelve cities of the Panionian League in Greek Asia Minor], whoendeavored to found the city of Abdera (Herodotus: Historia) in Aegean Thrace.The wound, suspected to have been caused by a sling shot, must have caused a compressedcranial fracture, endangering the dura mater and necessitating a surgical intervention resultingin a 14.78mm by 9.19mm cerebral opening by the method of scraping, as opposed totrepanation, for the removal of bone splinters and possibly of the lodged projectile, for theobliteration of fissure fractures, and for the subsequent therapy of the wound.Of great importance to medical science is the opportunity afforded by the treated woundwhich provides a nexus predating the methodological and procedural approaches of the late5th century B.C. recommended in the Hippocratic treatise On Head Wounds (HippocraticCorpus: III), specifically as it refers to protocols of examining, diagnosing, and surgicallytreating and caring for head trauma - a rich legacy of medical knowledge and practice ofancient Greek Medicine.
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Keywords:
Cranial surgical intervention, Abdera, Head wounds, Hippocratic Corpus
