Historical story

Kidney stones:the Bizarre Cures of the Romans

From the surgeon in Ancient Rome. Kidney stones were treated with bizarre therapies

The way kidney stones were treated at the time of Justinian , it was extremely bizarre (and certainly a bit painful).

This was the therapy.

The first step consisted of having the patient jump in place several times, to see if the stone came out on its own through the bladder, after which, if this did not happen, the patient was asked to stand bent with the head down and the hands behind the legs.

If results were not obtained in this way, then we passed to the skill and tools of the surgeon.

In practice, the doctor introduced a finger into the anus trying to move the stone towards the bladder and at the same time an assistant pressed on it with his hand.

Finally the surgeon made a cut in the part located between the anus and the genitals and the stone was finally brought out to the great relief, let's imagine, of the patient.