Diabetes Symptoms Weblog

In times of sickness, crusaders would often first
pray to a saint’s toenail or some other body part to
get well. Relics were a prime cure-all, and each
saint had his or her specialty; Saint Blaise for bones
stuck in the throat; Saint Agatha to soothe sore
breasts.<br
Listen to this eyewitness account by a 12th-century Arab
doctor called in to consult with a European colleague.
(Remember that Arabs, who had preserved much Greek and
Roman scholarship, were far superior in medicine and
science at the time.)<br
Arab doctor) to see a knight who had an abscess on his
leg, and a woman with consumption. I applied a
poultice to the leg and the abscess opened and began to
heal. I prescribed a cleansing and refreshing diet for

the woman. Then there appeared a Frankish (European)
doctor, who said: “This man has no idea how to cure these
people!” He turned to the knight and said: “Which would
you prefer, to live with one leg or to die with two?”
When the knight replied that he would prefer to live
with one leg, he sent for a strong man and a sharp
axe. They arrived and I stood by to watch. The doctor
supported the leg on a block of wood, and said to the man:
“Strike a mighty blow and cut it cleanly!” And there,
before my eyes the fellow struck the knight one blow,
and then another for the first had not done the job.
The marrow spurted out of the leg, and the patient
died instantaneously. Then the doctor examined the
woman and said: “She has a devil in her head who is in
love with her. Cut her hair off!” This was done, and
she went back to eating her usual Frankish food,
garlic and mustard which made her illness worse. “The
devil has got into her brain,” pronounced the doctor.
He took a razor nd cut a cross on her head, and
removed the brain so that the inside of her skull was
laid bare. This he rubbed with salt; he woman died
instantly. At this juncture, I asked whether they had any
further need of me, and as they had none, I came away,
having learnt things about medical methods that I never
knew before.” (tr. E.J. Costello)<br
(Breakit)

This entry was posted on Friday, February 6th, 2004 at 8:44 am and is filed under diabetes information. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.