The catheter and its use in late antiquity and the early middle ages.
OBJECTIVE
Based on Greek and Latin sources the use of the urinary catheter in Western medicine between 200 and 1000 CE was reviewed.


METHODS
Computerized databank searches permitted the identification and analysis of ancient and early medieval texts that include material on the catheter.


RESULTS
Ten medical authors mentioned the catheter and its use. In the Byzantine world they include the encyclopedists Oribasius, Aetius and Paul of Aegina. The best known Latin author is Caelius Aurelianus. These writers often put together summaries of earlier works. Innovation or independent research was not easily found at a time during which neither anatomical autopsy nor experimentation was widely practiced.


CONCLUSIONS
Old texts contain numerous instructions on how to skillfully use the catheter. As a technical achievement, it was independent of philosophical trends. Its primary indications, namely urinary retention, bladder stones and the administration of cures, changed little with time. As one of the oldest and most important instruments at the disposal of physicians, the history of the catheter should be known to every urologist.
Moog
Ferdinand Peter
FP
Institute for the History of Medicine and Medical Ethics, University of Cologne and Department of Urology, Cologne Medical Center at Holweide Hospital, Cologne, Germany. ajg02@uni-koeln.de
Karenberg
Axel
A
Moll
Friedrich
F
D018612:Byzantium; D049690:History, Ancient; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D018644:Roman World / Q000266:history; D014546:Urinary Catheterization / Q000266:history* / Q000295:instrumentation