title: The future of the realm: medicine and divination in ancient Syro-Mesopotamia.
abstract: The contributions of Syro-Mesopotamian cultures to the understanding of illnesses and organ functions have been sought in examination of medical and therapeutic texts. These provide a wealth of knowledge on prevalent diseases and nascent empirical therapeutics. There are, however, other sources of information relevant to this topic that have not been as thoroughly explored. Examination of representative arts, for example, provides documentations of the breadth of anatomical knowledge in these cultures. Study of the omen literature is useful in illustrating beliefs in disease etiology as well as documentation of prevalent diseases and observations on anatomical variations. In the present article we explore the various sources for information relevant to the kidney and related diseases.
authors.affiliation: Renal Division, Baxter Healthcare Corp., Deerfield, Ill. 60015, USA. mujaiss@baxter.com
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mujais
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001083:Arabia; D052776:Female Urogenital Diseases / Q000266:history*; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D008273:Magic / Q000266:history; D052801:Male Urogenital Diseases; D008512:Medicine in the Arts