Diabetes and the “Natural Faculties” in the Galenic treatises

Niki Papavramidou, Helen Christopoulou-Aletra

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The term diabetes first appears in a text by Aretaeus to describe a disease of the kidneys. Galen is likely to have borrowed this term from Aretaeus also to describe the same disorder, though in a manner somewhat uncharacteristic of his writings. Taken as a whole, only a few mentions may be found in the Galenic writings …

Aretaeus of Cappadocia and the first description of diabetes

Konstantinos Laios, Marianna Karamanou, Zenia Saridaki, George Androutsos

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The name Aretaeus of Cappadocia has been linked with diabetes more than that of any other physician of antiquity, his texts forming a sophisticated synthesis of the previous knowledge on this disease copiously supplemented by his own observations …

The Pineal Gland and its earliest physiological description

Konstantinos Laios

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Dear Editor, The earliest physiological description of the Pineal (Latin: pinea = pinecone) Gland (also occasionally “conarium”, from the Greek: κωνάριο = κώνος = cone, pinecone) is found in two medical works written by Galen (2nd c. AD) (Figure 1). These works contain its anatomical description …