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Childbirth and obstetrics in Classical Antiquity (here meaning the ancient Greco-Roman world) were studied by the physicians of ancient Greece and Rome. Their ideas and practices during this time endured in Western medicine for centuries and many themes are seen in modern women's health. Gynecology and obstetrics were originally studied and taught mainly by midwives in the ancient world, but eventually scholarly physicians of both sexes became involved as well. Obstetrics is traditionally defined as the surgical specialty dealing with the care of a woman and her offspring during pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (recovery). Gynecology involves the medical practices dealing with the health of women's reproductive organs (vagina, uterus, ovaries) and their breasts. Midwifery and obstetrics are distinctly different but overlap in medical practice that focuses on pregnancy and labor. Midwifery emphasizes the normality of pregnancy along with the reproductive process. Classical Antiquity saw the beginning of attempts to classify various areas of medical research, and the terms gynecology and obstetrics came into use. The ''Hippocratic Corpus,'' a large collection of treatises attributed to Hippocrates, features a number of gynecological treatises, which date to the classical period. ==Women as Doctors== During the era of Classical Antiquity, women practiced as doctors, but they were by far in the minority and typically confined to only gynecology and obstetrics. Aristotle was an important influence on later medical writers in Greece and eventually Europe. Aristotle concluded, similar to the writers of the ''Hippocratic Corpus'', that women's physiology was fundamentally different from that of men primarily because women were physically weaker, and therefore more prone to symptoms caused in some way by weakness, such as the theory of humourism. humourism claims that both men and women had several "humours" regulating their physical health, and that women had a "cooler" humour. The ''Hippocratic Corpus'' writers indicated that men were more rational than women, and that women's physiology made them susceptible to problems that would cause symptoms of irrationality.〔 Continuing with this assumption that men were more rational, men dominated the profession of physicians, an occupation requiring rational research, and for which they believed women were not suited. This did not stop women from becoming physicians, however; Agnodice was a popular gynecologist who disguised herself as a man in order to practice as a physician. Agnodice became so popular among her female patients that her male colleagues charged her with seducing her patients. In court, she revealed her sex and was exonerated. Philista was a popular professor of medicine who delivered lectures from behind a curtain, to prevent her beauty from distracting her students. In ancient Greece, there was also an intermediate occupation for midwives with some further medical training, known in Latin as the ''iatromea''. Merit-Ptah is the first woman named in the history of medicine and perhaps that of medicine; she is immortalized as the "chief physician". Women doctors may have offered specializations beyond gynecology and obstetrics, but there is not enough information to know how frequently. As obstetricians and gynecologists, they appear to have been numerous. The Law Code of Justinian presumed women doctors to be primarily obstetricians. The first medical text known to be written by a woman is by Metrodora, ''Concerning the Feminine Diseases of the Womb'', a work in 63 chapters that was part of a series of at least two works that she authored. The earliest copy dates from between the 2nd century and the 4th century CE. It is important to remember that during Classical Antiquity, anyone could practice as a doctor; one's reputation served as their accreditation. Training involved mainly practical applications as well as forming an apprenticeship to other doctors. In many cases, medical profession seems to have come from family tradition. For example, Pantheia, who was the wife of a physician, became one herself, a pattern also seen in the careers of Aurelia Alexandria Zosime and Auguste. Auguste received recognition as a chief doctor of her city, a title her husband also received. Metilia Donata was prominent enough to commission a large public building in Lyon. Anthiochis of Tlos, a doctor who was the daughter of a prominent physician, Diodotus, was recognized by the council of Tlos for her work as a doctor and had a statue of herself erected. She was also a widely discussed expert cited by Galen and others. Aspasia is quoted extensively by Aetius on gynecology. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Women's medicine in antiquity」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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