organization of medical sevice in ancient armies

[eugene]

Is there any information about the organization of medical sevice in Roman and ancient Greek armies?

[jvrjenivs]

The Roman army had a good established medical service. We know of the Valetudinaria (hospitals) of lot of the castra which groundplan we know. Also there are found a lot of medical tools. Unfortunatelly I don't know a good reference for the medical in the army specific.

But for general information about medicinal knowledge in ancient times, I would recommend: Ralph Jackson - Doctors and Diseases in the Roman Empire.
(there is a chapter handling on the surgeon and the army)

[Sean Manning]

In amateur Greek armies, medical services were generally up to the sick and wounded and their friends and servants. In other words, if you got sick or wounded, you found help by yourself. Theophrastus (the "Coward" in his satire of character traits)implies that the same was still true by -III but some of the professional Hellenistic armies may have had a regular medical system. It would be interesting to know when the regular Roman medical system was established.

[D B Campbell]

Unfortunately I don't know a good reference for the medical in the army specific.

Roy Davies, "The Roman Military Medical Service", Saalburg Jahrbuch 27 (1970) 84-104.

[Alexandr K]

Hi,

Some references I stumbled upon:

E. H. Byrne, “Medicine in the Roman Army,” The Classical Journal 5, no. 6 (1910): 267-272.
V. Nutton, “Medicine and the Roman Army: a further consideration,” Medical History 13 (1969): 260-270.
J. Scarborough, “Roman medicine and the legions: a reconsideration,” Medical History 12, no. 3 (1968): 254-261.
P. A. Baker, “Medical Care for the Roman Army on the Rhine, Danube and British Frontiers in the First, Second and Early Third Centuries AD (PhD thesis)” (PhD, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, 2000).

Hope it helps.

Greetings
Alexandr