The book delves into the largely unexplored works of late Byzantine physician John Zacharias Aktouarios, known for his contributions to uroscopy, physiology, and pharmacology.

The analysis of Aktouarios's treatises is based on a wide range of manuscripts and sources, shedding new light on Byzantine medical thought and its cultural exchanges with the Latin and Islamic worlds.

In his long uroscopy treatise, On Urines, he identifies a large number of urinary features from colour to sediment in an attempt to diagnose and prognosticate the patient's clinical condition.

[3] Koray Durak[c] appreciated how the book explores various aspects of Zacharias' work, such as uroscopy, clinical narratives, and pharmacology, and places him in the broader context of Byzantine and Mediterranean medical traditions.

[4] Maria Mavroudi[d] stressed the book's role in providing a comprehensive history of Byzantine medicine, especially during the Paleologan era when most Greek medical texts were written.