Gynecology in ancient Rome
[1][2] His writings covered medical conditions such as uterine prolapse and cancer and treatments involving materials such as herbs and tools such as pessaries.
[5] Another treatment at the time involved wrapping aetites, which were magic stones used to protect the fetus and ease childbirth,[6] in the skin of sacrificed animals.
[9][10] Galen believed that menstruation would rid a woman of their black bile, and therefore could cure melancholia, which is a historical term for depression.
[12] While Celsus did not advocate for the removal of the pectoral muscles, Galen believed the only way to get rid of breast cancer was to excise all infected regions from the body.
Other Roman medical writers, Quintus Serenus Sammonicus and Aspasia the Physician, stated that Glechium only functioned as an emmenagogue when served in tepid water.
Cyrene developed an industry centered around selling the drug; merchants who sold it amassed large sums of wealth and Cyrenian currency bore images of the plant.
According to the ancient gynecological text On the Diseases of Women, silphium should be mixed with pepper, bull bile, rue, and asphaltum and crushed into a powder before being consumed.
Soranus claims that rubbing old olive oil, honey, and sometimes wool, onto the cervix could cause it to clot, closing it and preventing pregnancy.
Soranus further suggests that white lead mixed with balsam sap or cedar and then combined with a clump of wool could inhibit pregnancy.
Soranus claims that drinking a cold beverage prior to sexual intercourse could cool down the uterus, causing it close and block sperm.
Soranus believed that if a woman held their breath and pulled away before their partner ejaculated, the sperm would be prevented from embedding itself deep inside the vagina.
[19] Pliny describes another folk contraceptive; he writes that if a woman decapitated a hairy spider and removed two worms from its carcass, she could then tie them around her waist with deer hide.
Soranus recommended women carry heavy objects, exercise, purge, and eat unhealthy foods as part of this phase of the treatment.
[21][22] In the next phase of treatment, women were instructed to take baths and poultices or enemas, all of which were mixed with herbs such as mallow, wormwood, rue, or linseed.
For the final stage, women were subjected to pessaries or bleeding; Soranus cautioned against any intensive bloodletting to avoid damaging the body.
[5] Both Galen, a Greek doctor, and Hippocrates described the usage of pelvic floor muscle training, now known as Kegel exercises, to treat urinary incontinence.
Soranus further believed that proper mental health was essential for fertility; he argued the body and soul must be in healthy condition for pregnancy to occur.
According to Soranus, pregnancy and childbirth drained the vitality of the mother; he compared this process to the exhaustion of trees when burdened with excessive fruit-production.
[27] Midwives were an important part of Roman childbirth care; archaeological evidence affirms the existence of a widespread and prominent midwife industry.
He argues that competent midwives require literacy, proficiency in both medical theory and gynecological techniques, as well as adequate physical health.
Soranus believed that mental characteristics were fundamental to a competent midwife: Midwives must be calm, fearless, supportive, and sympathetic with their patients.
Muscio, a writer of a 6th century gynecological treatise, describes using "women's words" in his text so poorly educated midwives could understand his work.
[27] Healing inscriptions from the temple of Epidaurus often record a female patient seeking divine intervention for gynecological concerns such as infertility, reproductive issues, or childbirth.
Pliny stated that the touch of a menstruating woman could treat medical conditions such as gout, fevers, erysipelas, scrofula, skin cancer, and bites from rabid dogs.
[47] In ancient Rome, women with heavy menstrual bleeding would be treated by applying ligatures to the groin and to the armpits, thus blocking off blood flow throughout the body.
Following this, blunt corks, liquid pitch, and pessaries soaked with alum, plant sap, or the yolk of roasted eggs were inserted inside the vagina.
Roman doctors stated that menstruation occurs all at once in a specific moment each month, it is possible this theory was designed to account for the syndrome.
[54][55] He wrote about a "great torrent of sheer lust" running down a woman's legs at the idea of engaging in "energetic" interactions with a man.
Juvenal also stated that "No woman will say no to her moist vulva", and he describes an adulteress coming home with a fluid on her dress, possibly semen or vaginal discharge.
