List of ancient physicians

Main article: List of physicians

The following is a list of ancient physicians who were known to have practised, contributed, or theorised about medicine in some form between the 30th century BCE and 4th century CE.

30th century to 1st century BCE

Name Century Ethnicity Known for
Bogar 3rd century BCE Indian The Pharmacognosy is the best known of his treatises
Tirumular 2nd century BCE Indian
Aegimus 5th century BCE Greek first person who wrote a treatise on the pulse
Korakkar 2nd century BCE Indian His works include Korakkar Malai Vagatam (Korakkar's Mountain Medicines)
Patanjali 2nd century BCE Indian Founder of Yoga School
Amenhotep 13th century BCE Egyptian chief physician of the early 19th Dynasty
Androcydes 4th century BCE Greek
Antipater 1st century BCE Greek author of a work titled On the Soul
Kashyapa 8th century BCE Indian wrote Kashyap Samhita
Apollonius Glaucus 3rd century BCE Greek On Internal Diseases
Apollonios of Kition 1st century BCE Greek Cypriot most important work is On Joints
Agnivesha 8th century BCE Indian wrote Agnivesha Samhita considered foundational text of the Agnivesha school of early Ayurveda
Bharadwaja 12th century BCE Indian He stated that embryo is caused from union of man's sperm and menstrual blood of woman
Atreya 6th century BCE Indian Instructor of the compiler of the Bhela Samhita
Aristotle 4th century BCE Greek
Asclepiades of Bithynia 2nd–1st century BCE Greek built a new theory of disease
Bian Que 4th century BCE Chinese earliest known Chinese physician
Bolus of Mendes 3rd century BCE Greek
Cato the Elder 2nd century BCE Roman
Charaka 6th–2nd century BCE Indian one of the principal contributors to Ayurveda
Ctesias 5th century BCE Greek
Demetrius of Apamea 2nd century BCE Greek studied sexual organs
Dexippus of Cos 4th century BCE Greek pupil of Hippocrates
Dieuches 4th century BCE Greek Dogmatic school of medicine
Diocles of Carystus 4th century BCE Greek practical medicine, especially diet and nutrition
Erasistratus 3rd century BCE Greek founded a school of anatomy in Alexandria
Heraclides of Tarentum 2nd century BCE Greek physician of the Empiric school
Herophilus 3rd century BCE Greek deemed to be the first anatomist
Hicesius 1st century BCE Greek head of a medical school established at Smyrna
Hippocrates 5th century BCE Greek "Father of Medicine", wrote the Hippocratic Corpus
Irynachet 22nd century BCE Egyptian senior physician of the great house
Jivaka Komarabhacca 5th century BCE Indian personal physician of King Bimbisara and Gautama Buddha
Madhava-kara 8th century BCE Indian listed diseases along with their causes, symptoms, and complications
Meges of Sidon 1st century BCE Greek/Roman surgeon
Mnesitheus 4th century BCE Greek classification of diseases
Sextius Niger 1st century BCE Roman pharmacology
Penthu 16th century BCE Egyptian Chief Physician to Akhenaten
Peseshet 25th century BCE Egyptian one of the earliest known female physicians
Harita 8th century BCE Indian pupil of Atreya and composed samhita
Jatukarna 8th century BCE Indian pupil of Atreya and composed "Jatukarna Samhita"
Philinus of Cos 3rd century BCE Greek reputed founder of the Empiric school
Philistion of Locri 4th century BCE Greek physician and writer of medicine
Philoxenus (physician) 3rd century BCE Greco-Egyptian wrote several volumes on surgery
Plistonicus 4th–3rd century BCE Greek wrote a work on anatomy
Posidonius 2nd–1st century BCE Greek polymath
Praxagoras of Cos 4th century BCE Greek theory of circulation
Qar 23rd century BCE Egyptian Chief Physician during the Sixth dynasty
Rabâ-ša-Marduk 13th century BCE Kassite
Serapion of Alexandria 3rd century BCE Greek member of the Empiric school of medicine
Shepseskaf-ankh 25th century BCE Egyptian Chief Physician during the Fifth dynasty
Sushruta 7th century BCE Indian author of the treatise The Compendium of Suśruta
Themison of Laodicea 1st century BCE Greek founder of the Methodic school of medicine
Theophrastus 4th–3rd century BCE Greek

1st century to 4th century CE

Name Century Ethnicity Known for
Abascantus 2nd century CE Greek invented antidote against serpent bites
Fabiola 4th century CE Roman First hospital in Latin Christendom was founded by Fabiola at Rome.[1]
Ephrem the Syrian 4th century CE Roman Opened a hospital at Edessa[1] They spread out and specialized nosocomia for the sick, brephotrophia for foundlings, orphanotrophia for orphans, ptochia for the poor, xenodochia for poor or infirm pilgrims, and gerontochia for the old
Basil of Caesarea 4th century CE Roman Founded at Caesarea in Cappadocia an institution (hospital) called Basileias, with several buildings for patients, nurses, physicians, workshops, and schools.[1]
Aemilia Hilaria 4th century CE Roman female physician. Wrote books on gynecology and obstetrics.
Aeschrion of Pergamon 2nd century CE Greek pharmaceutist
Agathinus 1st century CE Greek founder of the Eclectic school of medicine
Albucius 1st century CE Roman wealthy physician, with annual income of 250,000 sesterces
Alcon (classical history) 1st century CE Greek surgeon
Andromachus 1st century CE Greek
Anonymus Londinensis 1st century CE Greek author of the physiological work On Medicine
Antipater 2nd century CE Greek gave an account of the morbid symptoms that precede death
Antiphanes of Delos 2nd century CE Greek "the sole cause of diseases in man was the too great variety of his food"
Antonius Castor 1st century CE Roman herbal remedies
Antyllus 2nd century CE Greek surgeon, treatment of aneurysms became standard until the 19th century
Apollonius Claudius 2nd century CE Greek
Apollonius Cyprius 1st century CE Greek
Apollonius Organicus 2nd century CE Greek
Apollonius Pergamenus 3rd century CE Greek
Apollonius Pitaneus 1st century CE Greek
Apollonius Senior 1st century CE Greek
Apollonius Tarensis 1st century CE Greek
Apollonius Ther 1st century CE Greek
Dridhabala 2nd century CE India edited the Charaka Samhita
Archigenes 1st–2nd century CE Greek very high reputation for his professional skill
Arcyon 1st century CE Greek surgeon
Aretaeus 1st century CE Greek general treatise on diseases
Asclepiades Pharmacion 1st–2nd century CE Greek skill and knowledge of pharmacy
Aspasia the Physician 4th century CE Greek Female gynecologist
Athenaeus of Attalia 1st century CE Greek founder of the Pneumatic school of medicine
Cassius Felix 3rd century CE Roman African medical writer
Aulus Cornelius Celsus 1st century CE Roman De Medicina
Charmis 1st–2nd century CE Greek Physician active in Rome
Saints Cosmas and Damian 3rd century CE Arab persecuted by Diocletian
Crinas 1st–2nd century CE Greek Physician active in Rome
Criton of Heraclea 1st–2nd century CE Greek Chief physician of emperor Trajan
Damocrates 1st century CE Greek wrote pharmaceutical works in Greek iambic verse
Demosthenes Philalethes 1st century CE Greek author of the Ophthalmicus, the most influential work of ophthalmology in antiquity
Saint Diomedes 3rd century CE Greek arrested by Diocletian
Pedanius Dioscorides 1st century CE Greek De Materia Medica
Dong Feng 3rd century CE Chinese
Erotianus 1st century CE Greek Collection of Hippocratic Words
Eudemus (physician) 1st–2nd century CE Greek two persons, the first the poisoner of Drusus Julius Caesar, the second an acquaintance of Galen
Saint Fabiola 4th century CE Roman nurse
Gaius Stertinius Xenophon 1st century CE Greek personal physician of emperor Claudius
Galen 2nd–3rd century CE Greek developer of anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, and neurology
Ge Hong 4th century CE Chinese originator of First Aid in TCM
Heliodorus 1st century CE Greek wrote on medical technique
Herodotus (physician) 1st–2nd century CE Greek Two doctors, the first a Pneumaticist, the second an Empiricist
Hua Tuo 2nd century CE Chinese abilities in acupuncture, moxibustion, herbal medicine and medical Daoyin exercises
Huangfu Mi 3rd century CE Chinese compiled the Canon of Acupuncture and Moxibustion
Ji Ben 3rd century CE Chinese physician who started a failed rebellion
Leonidas (physician) 2nd–3rd century CE Greek surgical writer, provided the first detailed description of a mastectomy
Leoparda 4th century CE Greek female gynecologist
Marcellus of Side 2nd century CE Greek wrote a long medical poem
Quintus Gargilius Martialis 3rd century CE Roman writer on horticulture, botany and medicine
Menemachus 2nd century CE Greek Methodic school of medicine
Menodotus of Nicomedia 2nd century CE Greek Empiricist
Metrodora 4th century CE Greek female gynecologist, author of On the Diseases and Cures of Women.
Oribasius 4th century CE Greek medical writer and person physician of Julian the Apostate
Paccius Antiochus 1st century CE Roman wealthy commercial physician
Philagrius of Epirus 3rd century CE Greek medical writers
Philonides (physician) 1st century CE Greek author of De Medicina
Philumenus 3rd century CE Greek
Aelius Promotus 2nd century CE Greek author of Medicinalium Formularum Collectio
Rufus of Ephesus 1st–2nd century CE Greek wrote treatises on dietetics, pathology, anatomy, and patient care
Serenus Sammonicus 3rd century CE Roman author of a didactic medical poem Liber Medicinalis
Scribonius Largus 1st century CE Roman court physician to the Roman emperor Claudius
Sextius Niger 1st century CE Roman author of the pharmacologist work On material
Sextus Empiricus 2nd century CE Roman
Sextus Placitus 4th century CE Roman author of Libri medicinae Sexti Placiti Papyriensis ex animalibus pecoribus et bestiis vel avibus Concordantiae
Soranus of Ephesus 2nd century CE Greek author of treatise on gynecology and On Acute and Chronic Diseases
Theodorus Priscianus 4th century CE Roman author of Medical Matters in Four Books
Vagbhata 4th century CE Indian He is considered to be "The Trinity" of Ayurvedic knowledge
Thessalus of Tralles 1st century CE Roman Methodic school of medicine, court physician of Emperor Nero
Xenocrates of Aphrodisias 1st century CE Greek pharmaceutical writer, including On Useful Things from Living Beings
Zhang Zhongjing 2nd-3rd century CE Chinese made great contributions to the development of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Zopyrus (physician) 1st century CE Greek antidote inventor

References

  1. ^ a b c Durant, Will (March 1993). The Age of Faith: A History of Medieval Civilization-Christian, Islamic, and Judaic-From Constantine to Dante : A.D. 325–1300. Fine Communications. ISBN 9781567310153. Retrieved 19 October 2012.