Soranus of Ephesus: the practice of neonatal manipulation in the history of ancient Western medicine

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Silvia Iorio
Marco Cilione
Valentina Gazzaniga

Keywords

Ancient Medicine, Neonatal massage, Soranus of Ephesus

Abstract

The work of Soranus of Ephesus – the founder of gynaecology and scientific obstetrics – on neonatal therapeutic massage is truly interesting glimpse into the history of ancient medicine. This treatise, in addition to the importance it offers in describing important techniques that affect the body size of the newborn, is seen as the first study that conceptualizes the practice of massage as a process of shaping and modelling the perfect citizen of the ancient world

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References

1. Thompson CJS. Massage in antiquity and its practice in ancient Greece and Rome. London: Wellcome Historical Medical Museum; 1923
2. Gazzaniga V. Anomalous pregnancies in ancient medicine. Med Secoli 2010; 22(1-3): 343–60.
3. Soranos d'Éphèse, (1988), Maladies des femmes. Texte établi, traduit et commenté par Paul Burguière, Danielle Gourevitch, Yves Malinas. Paris, Les Belles Lettres.