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Highlighting the contribution of the Greek physician Theodoros Aretaios to the history of thyroidectomy

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Abstract

Theodoros Aretaios (1829–1893), having pursued advanced studies at home and abroad and possessing a wide range of competences and interests, was among the first Greek physicians to produce educational treatises for both students and doctors of medicine. Among these is his medical treatise Surgery which deals with thyroid operations and goiter symptoms as well as post-operative lesions which included a record of his extensive experience, learned recommendations, deep insights, and advanced techniques. In this medical archive, which is preserved in the National Library of Greece, there is, for example, the physician’s vivid description of a thyroidectomy that he performed which illustrates his expertise as a surgeon as well as the surgical knowledge of his times. Aretaios was not the first to perform this operation in Greece: he was, however, the first to document it, which he did for the benefit of his fellow Greeks and of surgeons worldwide.

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Acknowledgements

Manuscripts no. EBE 1874, 406 and EBE 1878, 49 are published under the license of the National Library of Greece no.6624.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of History of Medicine and Medical Ethics, Medical School National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athinodorou 1, Kato Petralona, 118 53, Athens, Greece

    Konstantinos Laios, Constantinos G. Zografos & Marianna Karamanou

  2. Department of History of Medicine and Medical Deontology, Medical School University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece

    Gregory Tsoucalas

  3. Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece

    George Androutsos

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  1. Konstantinos Laios
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  2. Gregory Tsoucalas
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  3. Constantinos G. Zografos
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  4. George Androutsos
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Correspondence to Konstantinos Laios.

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Laios, K., Tsoucalas, G., Zografos, C.G. et al. Highlighting the contribution of the Greek physician Theodoros Aretaios to the history of thyroidectomy. Hormones (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42000-024-00575-6

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