Hippocratic views in the treatment of rectal prolapse
Tsoucalas, G.; Papaioannou, T.G.; Papatheodoridis, G.V.; Karamanou, M.
Acta Gastro-Enterologica Belgica 80(3): 411-415
2018
ISSN/ISBN: 1784-3227 PMID: 29513177 Document Number: 696550
Known since antiquity, rectal prolapse was first studied systematically by Hippocrates (460-377 BC) who recognized the predisposing factors and proposed several therapeutic approaches such as defecation positions, manual retraction and specific herbal or mineral based anti-haemorrhagic and pain-killing poultices. Hippocratic medicine avoided invasive surgical procedures probably due to a lack of knowledge in human anatomy. However, Hippocrates' views astonishingly lasted in time, presenting similarities to current medical theories on rectal prolapse.