Education and Medical Practice in Ancient Greece, the Alexandrian Period and the Western Roman Empire: Advantages and Disadvantages from a Contemporary Perspective

Abstract

During pre-Hippocratic times, medical education and practice in Greece were influenced by supernatural and religious beliefs. With Hippocrates of Cos, the doctor ceased to be a religious healer to become a naturalist, since he studied disease for the first time as an objective natural phenomenon. Medical schools were founded with a model of education of disciples, with great ethical content, without study plans or formal title. They prioritized observation over theory. Aristotle influenced medicine for more than 2,000 years. Even though he was not a physician, his contributions to medicine were substantial. He was considered the founder of comparative anatomy, created the Lyceum of Athens and emphasized the importance of one's own observation and experience to be a good doctor and not just a philosopher. Later, the leading role in medical education passed into the hands of the School of Alexandria, where the first chair of anatomy in history originated. In the cities of Cos, Cnido, and Alexandria medicine was taught with an educational model that persisted until the first part of the Middle Ages, based on: freedom (teacher and student defined their own goals), disciple learning (started from observation: “see how I do it so you can do it later”): teaching-learning process based on the experience over the texts; strong ethical content (do good and do no harm).  During the Roman Empire, the Greek knowledge was preserved and strengthened by the hand of Claudius Galenus and progress was made in the construction of the first hospitals, an assortment of instruments and medical specialization. Both periods, Greek and Roman, were independent of religious influences; a situation that propitiated an exercise and a rational medical education. However, with few exceptions, there was no place for women.