J. Antall szerk.: Medical history in Hungary. Presented to the XXII. International Congress for the History of Medicine / Orvostörténeti Közlemények – Supplementum 4. (Budapest, 1970)
ESSAYS-LECTURES - Gy. Regöly-Mérei: Paleopathological Examination of Skeletal Finds in the Roman Period and Description of Diseases in Greek and Roman Medical Texts (in English)
Ebbeli finds this disease conforms to rheumatism from a philological point of view. Grapow agrees. Hyppocrates differenciates the forms of "rheuma and the kedmata" (Epidemion biblia hepta VI. 515, VII. 113 [13]) According to him "rheuma" is a warm (bilious) fluxus in the sense of humoral pathology, which in the case of eleios (ileus) can occur in the intestines too. Although he is the denominator of the term rheuma, rheumatism yet this has not much to do with the conception of Hippocrates. The "kedmata" is actually the opposite of theuna because it means a closed, cold fluxus in interpretation of humoral pathology. Galenus restricts, the region of concepts. In the comments of Hippocrates Aphorismata (Hippocratous glosson exegisus [9]) he writes; rheumatism is the humoralpathological phenomenon of the extremities, catarrhus comes into being if irregular fluids flow into the cavity of the body or out of it. According to Paulñs (Lib. III. c. 8. [18]). Ad membronas si defertur errens humor acris, rheuma est : licet quid discrimimus inter catarrhum et rheuma statuendum fit, antiqui nesciant". Ackerknecht [3] draws our attention to the fact that in ancient time arthritis, in the Middle Ages gout was the collective term for all diseases of the joints, their separation began only in the renaissance. In my paleopathological material of examinations in the Roman age, I only came across one case of arthritis (details : 4 h t case : Vörösmart 57, 115). According to Schmor and Junghanns [21] a bridge-like ankylosis of the vertebrae is the usual characteristic of rheumatism, this I also found to be valid in this case. These changes of joints (fig. 2.) as well as the spine can be regarded as of rheumatic origin. Virchow's report published in 1895 describes changes found on the bones of the cave bear, this he has named "Höhlengicht" [23]. In paleopathology it undoubtedly causes great difficulty to separate arthritis and arthrosis, also nonspecific spondylitis and spondylosis. Sometimes the multilocular appearance can serve as base. In the 25 adult cases I examined the skeleton bones were in good condition and only in one single case did I find arthritis (fig. 2.). On the other Fig. 2. Arthrosis on the caput humeri. Vörösmart No. 57, 115 (grave 7)
