Ophthalmic malignancies in antiquity as depicted in two terracotta figurines.

Ocular and orbital wall cancers were recognized by the physicians of the antiquity as incurable, lethal, and non-operable malignant entities. Paul of Aegina (7(th)c AD) was the first to refer to this type of cancer and proposed only some palliative measures, while the same approach was also preserved by Theophanes Nonnus (10(th)c AD). However, two terracotta figurines of the Hellenistic period (323-30 BC) which depicted tumorous malformations in the eye area, raise a scientific debate on the matter. Hellenic art, once more contributed in a didactic way to preserve medical knowledge of the past, and served as an auxiliary tool in order to facilitate medical study.

The medical-religious practice of votive offerings and the representation of a unique pathognomonic one inside the asclepieion of corinth.

Votive offerings to the healing gods were a common religious custom for the ill believers to achieve the expected cure. The dedication of votive offerings began in Prehistoric Crete and continued during the Classical Period, mainly connected with the god Asclepius. Most offerings presented healthy members, while in some rare cases a disease had been displayed. A unique votive offering, found in the Asclepieion of Corinth, presented an anomaly, bringing to light the religious beliefs of the era. The custom of votive offerings was absorbed by the Orthodox Christians and still remains a common practice.

The fascinating germ theories on cancer pathogenesis.

For more than 100 years, the germ theory of cancer, proposing that microorganisms were at the origin of the disease, dominated medicine. Several eminent scientists like Etienne Burnet, Mikhail Stepanovich Voronin, Charles-Louis Malassez, and Francis-Peyton Rous argued on the pathogenesis presenting their theories that implicated cocci, fungi and parasites. The impact of these theories was culminated by the Nobel Prize in 1926 that was attributed to the Danish scientist Johannes Fibiger for his work on the nematode Spiroptera as a causative agent in cancer. Even if those theories were the result of fantasy and misinterpretation, they paved the way for the scientific research in oncology.

Practising obstetrics in the 17th century: François Mauriceau (1637-1709).

In 17th century France, the practice of obstetrics passed from female midwives to medical men called accoucheurs. François Mauriceau, a prominent French obstetrician of the 17th century urged the need of an organised obstetrical education, emphasising anatomy. He invented the semi-recumbent or 'French' birthing position, the 'tire-tête' forceps, the 'Mauriceau manoeuvre' in breech delivery, and provided one of the first epidemiological analyses in obstetrics contributing enormously to the development of this specialty. His best-seller, Traité des maladies des femmes grosses revolutionised the practice of obstetrics.

Legal, cultural and ethical considerations on the informing of the cancer patient: a perspective from Greece.

PURPOSE: To discuss the current official legal position of the Greek Council and the official international statement on the subject, as well as the emerging cultural and moral aspects on the issue of informing the cancer patient. METHODS: Perusal of national and international legal and ethics sources, under a multidisciplinary perspective. RESULTS: According to the Council of State of Greece the violation of informing the patient by the physician constitutes urban liability and disciplinary offence. The Greek Code of Medical Ethics declares that the physician is obliged to inform his patient about his health and respect the desire of the patient who decides not to be informed. The UNESCO declaration does not seem to clarify the subject. In Greece, physicians have the tendency to tell the truth more often today than in the past, reflecting the global tendency, although the majority still discloses the truth to the next of kin. The difference in the tactics of informing in several nations reflects huge cultural, social, economic and religious differences in each society. CONCLUSION: Well informed and knowledgeable health-care and legal professionals, alongside with patients and ethical directors, should sit at the same table in order to productively discuss the most sensitive matters of the contemporary medical practice.

Aretaeus of Cappadocia and the first accurate description of uterine carcinoma.

In our article we present the work on uterine cancer of the distinguished physician Aretaeus of Cappadocia. Uterine cancer was known since antiquity and its presence is testified in ancient Egyptian and Greek medical writings. However in the 2nd century AD Aretaeus provided the first accurate description of uterine cancer, dividing it in two forms, an ulcerated and a non ulcerated, both painful and fatal.

The eminent dermatologist Moriz Kaposi (1837-1902) and the first description of idiopathic multiple pigmented sarcoma of the skin.

In 1872, the Hungarian born dermatologist Moriz Kaposi that was practicing in Vienna first described a rare endemic disease that bears his name, among elderly persons of Central European or Mediterranean origin named "idiopathic multiple pigmented sarcoma of the skin". Ten years later the Italian dermatologist Tommaso de Amicis confirms Kaposi's findings. For more than a century the disease was known as a rare low grade malignancy till the 1980s AIDS epidemic.

The great surgeon Jean-Louis Faure (1863-1944) and his contribution in the treatment of uterine cancer.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Professor Jean-Louis Faure, one of the leading surgeons of the innovative Parisian Medical School, published an exhaustive work on uterine cancer. He was the first to perform in France the procedure of total abdominal hysterectomy by median section of the uterus contributing to the evolution of cancer surgery.

The distinguished surgeon Bertrand Bécane (1728-1802?) and the syphilitic theory of cancer.

Bertrand Bécane, Professor of surgery in Toulouse Medical School, is considered an eminent precursor of oncology, influencing the 18th century medicine with his syphilitic theory of cancer.

The quarrel between iatromechanists and animists about the cause of cancer: lymph's role in oncogenesis.

In the 17th century, iatromechanists based to the solidist theory for the lymphatic system and lymph established a new speculation for the essential role of lymph in oncogenesis, while animists gave their own views in relation to the cause of cancer. Gradually, with the rise of pathological anatomy, new more rational theories have emerged.

Sir Robert Carswell (1793-1857): coining the term "melanoma".

Melanoma is a neoplastic disorder produced by malignant transformation of the normal melanocyte, accounting for 4% of all skin malignancies. This malignancy was described since antiquity as a "fatal black tumour". In the 19th century, the distinguished pathologist Sir Robert Carswell coined first the term melanoma, provided its pathological description and depicted the lesion in his famous work Pathological Anatomy: Illustrations of the elementary forms of disease.

Joseph Gensoul's operation for sarcoma of the maxillary antrum, one century before Moore.

Joseph Gensoul is considered an important figure of the 19th century Lyonnais Medical School. His contribution to maxillofacial surgery and his legendary abilities secured him a place in the history of Medicine.

Clovis Vincent (1879-1947): founder of French neurosurgery and promoter of oncologic neurosurgery.

The eminent neurologist Clovis Vincent decided to become neurosurgeon at an advanced age. His is considered the founder of French neurosurgery and the Europe's first neurosurgeon. He was mainly interested in pituitary tumors and his work on oncologic neurosurgery remains valuable.

[Sexual mutilations through ages]. / Les mutilations sexuelles à travers les âges.

Among the ethnic mutilations (volunteer mutilations performed for religious, aesthetic, moral or hygienic purposes), genital mutilation (circumcision, castration, total emasculation, infibulation, excision, etc.) have always fascinated the human mind and are the subject of our historical overview.

The oncologic conceptions of the great clinician, phtisiologist, pathologist and statistician Gaspard-Laurent Bayle (1774-1816).

Gaspard-Laurent Bayle was a 19th century eminent clinician, pathologist, phthisiologist and statistician that deserves our attention. His very advanced oncologic conceptions rank him among the all-time great pioneers of oncology.

Uterine cancer through the works of the eccentric Auguste Joseph Lutaud (1847- 1925), famous gynaecologist, publisher and intellectual of the 19th century.

Auguste Lutaud was standing for almost half century in front of the French and International stage for his controversy and eccentric personality, his undisputed authority in gynecology, his writings and his publishing success. Thanks to his writings, he is considered as the main propagator of the prevailing ideas on uterine cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Joseph-Claude-Anthelme Récamier (1774-1852): forerunner in surgical oncology.

Professor J.C.A. Récamier (1774-1852), the undisputed founder of modern gynecologic surgery, had also excelled in the field of oncology. In particular, he performed the first successful vaginal hysterectomy for cancer; he conducted extensive research on cancer metastatic process and he was the proponent of a cancer treatment method by compression.

The Nobel Prize laureate - father of anaphylaxis Charles-Robert Richet (1850-1935) and his anticancerous serum.

Professor of physiology Charles-Robert Richet, winner of the Nobel Prize in 1913, is best known for his work on anaphylaxis. However, with his collaborator Jules Héricourt studied the effects of antibody treatment and made the very first attempts to fight cancer with serotherapy. Being versatile, Richet contributed in neurology, psychology and was also a poet, playwrighter, pacifist and pioneer in aviation.