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The purpose of this website is to provide a somewhat atypical, yet helpful, picture of medical terms in a wider Classical setting, involving extracts from Greek and Roman History, Literature, Mythology, Art, Architecture and Culture.

Although there are brief introductions to the various bodily systems and specialties, together with appropriate interactive exercises, the focus is not upon medical writers, whose contribution can be found in already existing websites, such as the UVa Health Sciences Library on-line exhibit “Antiqua Medicina: From Homer to Vesalius,” but upon a variety of sources, from Homer to Pliny the Younger, from Mount Vesuvius to Mount St. Helens.

The medical students will thereby have the opportunity to be exposed to, and, perhaps, acquire an interest in, the Classical World in general. For example, accounts of the plagues and their causes will include discussions of Homer’s Iliad and Thucydides’s History.

The student of Classics, in turn, will discover how the Classics have contributed to today’s medical world; how, for instance, the nymph Echo gave her name to a wide range of medical procedures and apparatus.

As for the general readers, they will be able to learn about both fields, and ultimately gain a better understanding of the origin and development of today’s words. They will discover the meaning of many interesting words, such as pneumonoultramicroscopicosilicovolcanoconiosis, the longest word in the English language, which was coined after the eruption of Mount St. Helens. They will also learn about current medical terms, which are still in use despite being etymologically ridiculous and despite attempts to replace them with a more accurate term.

In a nutshell, The Classical World in Medical Terminology site is designed for all the curious minds who wish to learn more about the Classical World, and its influence on our modern world.