Urological diseases of the Byzantine emperors (330-1453).

OBJECTIVES

To offer historical evidence of Byzantine urology and the variety of operations or other healing techniques as applied on the selected group of the Emperors who presented with diseases of the kidney and the urinary tract.

METHODS

The health problems of all 87 Byzantine Emperors have been reviewed and focus has been made on the urological diseases, followed by an analysis of the diagnostic and therapeutic processes.

RESULTS

Byzantine medicine is the heir of the Ancient Greek and Roman scientific knowledge, enriched by the personal experience of the physicians of the era and the evolution in anatomic researches. In the field of urology, various operative techniques were applied and the surgeons attempted to cure problems of the bladder, urethra, and external genitalia, aiming to restore the health of the State leader. The healing methods applied to the urological problems of the Emperors represent the highest level of this branch of Byzantine surgery, because the best quality of surgeons performed their profession in the capital of the Empire, Constantinople, and were also responsible for the health of the Royal Family. The descriptions of all of these well-known diseases of the urological system and their therapies are contained in the extended compilations of the medical authors of the era, and historical and other nonmedical sources complete the panoramic view of Byzantine urology.

CONCLUSIONS

The diagnosis and the healing methods for the urological diseases of the Emperors represent the general level of Byzantine Surgery and especially of urology, as well as the anatomic knowledge of the genital and the urological systems.