At the Roman imperial court, their chief held the high rank and specific title of Comes archiatrorum.
The word is formed of the Greek ἀρχή Archè, 'chief', and ἴατρος Iatros, a physician; the Latin equivalents are principium and medicus.
In modern Greece, Archiater (Αρχίατρος) is used as an officer rank for army doctors, equivalent to Lieutenant Colonel.
The most famous archiater in Finland has been Arvo Ylppö,[3] who pioneered pediatrics in the country and is credited for the enormous reduction of infant mortality to the modern, very low levels.
In neighbouring Sweden, the title of archiater was bestowed on the great botanist Carl Linnaeus as an honour.