The discovery and known use of the syringe in Ancient Greece. Katsarou I, Tsagkarousianos C, Ikonomopoulou E, Bankov T. General Hospital of Zakinthos, General Hospital of Patras, School of English Graduate – AUTH

The discovery and the use of the syringe have its roots in Ancient Greece. Purpose: To indicate the use of the syringe in Ancient Greece. Bibliography: The Ctesibius of Alexandria ( BC) was a mathematician and inventor of ancient Greece after Archimedes, that invented the cylinder piston. It was the father of Pneumatics, the science that dealing with air and its uses. It was the founder of the Alexandrian School of engineering and mathematics. He was known primarily for three achievements: depressed suction pump, the hydraulic clock and hydraulic instrument (Hydraulis). Philo of Byzantium (230 BC...) wrote a technique Encyclopedia, which brought the technical knowledge of the time in 9 books. Philo discovered the hydraulic valve. The piston cylinder and hydraulic valve have used to construct the syringe.

Heron of Alexandria (100 BC) was a mathematician, engineer and inventor. He was director of the Library of Alexandria and was known by its famous constructions which rank him among the greatest figures of the science of antiquity and fairly consider him as the spiritual ancestor of Leonardo Da Vinci. His entire project the IRONEIO is really huge: 16 treatises of these 10 have survived complete, 3 are excerpts while three were not rescued. In his works “About Pneumatics vol A and B “ Heron collected, classified and described sixty hitherto known hydraulic and pneumatic mechanisms. Under this Heron invented the syringe and used to remove pus from wounds by suction and for adding liquids with depression (injection). It had a similar size and shape like a today syringe, but it was made of copper and called pyoulkos. Soranus of Ephesus ( AD) He studied at Ephesus and Alexandria. He worked in Rome for the emperors Trajan and Hadria and he wrote very important medical and philosophical works. Among the top of his works is one with title "About women's illness." He considered as the most important gynecologist of antiquity and his work formed the basis of gynecology until the 16th century. Soranus he used a special syringe - the mitrenchyti – injecting in the matrix locally substances (herbal infusions).

Galen (Galenus Galen Claudius) (129 AD -199 AD) Greek physician and philosopher that he is after Hippocrates, the greatest physician of antiquity, he used brass syringe. He designed a needle with hole from which he absorbed the content of eye lenses that causing cataract. The Mitrodora Cleopatra lived in the 4th century. She is one of the few women in the history of medicine of Byzantium. Her writings "About illness of the womens matrix ' was for many centuries the main source of knowledge to address the problems of pregnancy, childbirth In therapeutic suggestions using various means, among them douche with mitrenchyti. Alexander Trallians (6 century AD) he is one of the leading personalities of medicine of that time. He worked in Rome, where he gained a great reputation. Only Hippocrates and Galen Romans they considered as seniors of Alexander. He let interesting writings, the "Healing" in 12 books. The "Healing" was translated and released in Latin and Arabic, as a fundamental textbook for physicians. In his work "Therapeutic" refers to the drainage of pleural fluid by puncture of the chest (the Hippocrates drained by incision).

Paul of Aegina ( ), known that he was born in Aegina and studied medicine in Alexandria, and he is known for his medical encyclopedia ”Medical Compendium”. He influenced the shaping of Arab Medicine. In his sixth book "About Surgery," describes catheterization and infusion of the bladder using syringes as probes according to age and gender. During the 10th century the Theofannis Nonnus (the last Byzantine physician), chief doctor of the Emperor Constantine VII, in his "Summary of Compendium of medical art" used the term "puncture" the abdomen for ascites. He let interesting writings, the "Healing" in 12 books. The "Healing" was translated and released in Latin and Arabic, as a fundamental textbook for physicians. Conclusion: The use of syringe in ancient times was widely given mainly to drain fluid, pus and foreign bodies from cavities and abscesses and less was used for infusions. It took 20 centuries until to use syringes for hypodermic administration of substances in 1853 by Alexander Wood ( ).