Charles Savona-Ventura

The medical aspect of Maltese history has been for long time underestimated, while the origins of medicine in this country are deep rooted in the past, since the prehistoric era.
Very little is known about medical practice during the Phoenician period (earliest documentation dates the Bronze Age), but written documents on Egyptian papyrus (1550-1547 BC) document the first medical records.
Still deeply influenced by magic-religious concepts of evil spirits as main responsible for many diseases.
Romans, using the island for building their vacation Villas, introduced the use of spring water (especially in the area of Ghajn Tuffihea) to supplement rain-water collection and built private and public baths and thermae, developing the use of having fresh water, a great step towards hygiene.
Later occupants of the islands introduced pros and cons to the correct use of the first modern knowledge of basic medicine (i.e. French and Ottoman period), with the result of falling back into medieval rough practices.
Notwithstanding that the finding of surgical instruments, especially in the gynecologic and midwifery practice, are of great importance and very avantgarde in comparison to other European countries of those ages.
This means that local medicine practice has been much influenced and related to the political situation of Malta.
A very interesting part introduce the reader to the teaching of medical and paramedical specialties, starting from the first school of Anatomy and Surgery by Grandmaster Nicholas Cottoner, in 1676 and later the foundation of the Collegio Medico by Grandmaster Pinto in 1771.
Practical training had been provided by Sacra Infermeria of the Knights of St. John (an association still operating and flourishing), while until 1530, with the arrivals of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem in Malta, doctors used to train in Sicily's University.The development of the various medical specialties, medicine, pharmacy, surgery, gynecology and midwifery, leads to nowadays (even if the book dates 1997) where Maltese medicine is proud to own very high level of hospitals and treatments. Unlikely medics in many part of Europe, Maltese tend to obtain postgraduate qualifications abroad to keep in touch with the most modern technologies. Accurate statistics of plagues which hit the Islands during the past centuries are also provided, as well as tables on surgical procedures (a bit out of date yet, giving infos till the late Fifties). For sure a really interesting volume to get introduced to such an often little known topic.… (mehr)