Ammonius Lithotomos (; ; fl. 3rd century BC), of Alexandria, was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

lithotomist.

Work

Reported by

Celsus Celsus (; , ''Kélsos''; ) was a 2nd-century Greek philosopher and opponent of early Christianity. His literary work '' The True Word'' (also ''Account'', ''Doctrine'' or ''Discourse''; Greek: )Hoffmann p.29 survives exclusively via quotati ...

, Ammonius invented the tools to break up "

bladder stones A bladder stone is a stone found in the urinary bladder. Signs and symptoms Bladder stones are small mineral deposits that can form in the bladder. In most cases bladder stones develop when the urine becomes very concentrated or when one is ...

". :"A hook or crotchet is fixed upon the stone in such a way as easily to hold it firm, even when shaken, so that it may not revolve backward; then an iron instrument is used, of moderate thickness, thin at the front end but blunt, which, when applied to the stone and struck at the other end, cleaves it. Great care must be taken that the instrument do not come into contact with the bladder itself, and that nothing fall upon it by the breaking of the stone." This is the method Ammonius uses to break up stones in the bladder as reported by Celsus Lithoclastic cystotomy is attributed to Ammonius ''Lithotomos'' (stone-cutter), from which arose the term

lithotomy Lithotomy from Greek for "lithos" (stone) and "tomos" ( cut), is a surgical method for removal of calculi, stones formed inside certain organs, such as the urinary tract (kidney stones), bladder (bladder stones), and gallbladder (gallstones), t ...

, now having the arbitrary signification of cutting for the stone. Celsus gave the first description of lithotomy as performed before and during his time, and the operation has ever since borne his name—the Celsian method. From

Paulus Aegineta Paul of Aegina or Paulus Aegineta (; Aegina, ) was a 7th-century Byzantine Greek physician best known for writing the medical encyclopedia ''Medical Compendium in Seven Books.'' He is considered the “Father of Early Medical Writing”. For many ...

: "To stop bleeding,

Oribasius Oribasius or Oreibasius (; c. 320 – 403) was a Greek medical writer and the personal physician of the Roman emperor Julian. He studied at Alexandria under physician Zeno of Cyprus before joining Julian's retinue. He was involved in Julian's ...

directs, in the first place, cooling and astringent applications to be used, and if these do not succeed, caustics, such as misy, chalcitis, copperas, or the actual cautery. Upon the whole, his account of hemorrhage is nearly the same as our author's, only he says nothing of the ligature. Aetius treats of this subject in the same terms as

Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus (; September 129 – AD), often Anglicization, anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Ancient Rome, Roman and Greeks, Greek physician, surgeon, and Philosophy, philosopher. Considered to be one o ...

, recommending the ligature under the circumstances mentioned by him. Some of his styptics are powerful escharotics and astringents, such as copperas, chalcitis, alum, galls, quicklime, rosin, and frankincense. He informs us that "Ammonius, the famous Alexandrian lithomist, used a composition of arsenic, sandaracb, chalcitis, and quicklime.""

Notes

{{Authority control Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 3rd-century BC Greek physicians