De medicina is an extraordinary source for assessing the state of Roman medical knowledge in the first century AD. In this treatise, for instance, we find the earliest uses of the words insania and cardiacus to signify madness and heart disease, respectively. The chapters on surgery also provide essential information about how the wounds of Roman soldiers should be treated. In addition to explicating contemporary medical knowledge, Celsus also acknowledges the accomplishments of the past. For instance, he reports that Diocles of Carystus devised a tool called a cyathiscus to remove missiles embedded in the flesh.
Celsus
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De medicina. Ed: Bartholomaeus Fontius Venice, Florence: Nicolaus Laurentii, Alamanus, 1478 The Lewis Stephen Pilcher Collection