Rufus of Ephesus

Rufus (Fr. roux, redhead, redbeard), a common given name in Rome, of Ephesus (Asia Minor) has been described as the medical link between Hippocrates and Galen. Second in stature as a Greek physician, and in clinical acclaim surpassed only by his predecessor and his successor, he lived in the reign of Trajan (98-117 A. D.). Remnants of his teachings were preserved by Oribasius, court physician to Emperor Julianus, a countryman and eclectic physician who lived in the fourth century A. D. Paul of Aegina (625-690 A. D.) was also a chronicler of the writings of Rufus. Paul was the last of the Greek physicians who preserved the writings that had been compiled over the millennium. The description of the plague by Rufus, retold by Paul, recounts the environment in which it flourished, the symptoms and physical signs of the afflicted and the symptomatic treatment. The works of Rufus were also translated into Arabic (J. A. M. A., June 4, 1960, p. 546) especially by Rhazes (865-929 A. D.). Gilbertus Anglicus (1180-1250 A. D.), believed to be the first Englishman to write about gout, quoted freely from Rufus. It is possible that Chaucer was referring to Rufus in his Doctour of Physic: “Well knew he the old Esculapius and Diuscorides, and Eekrisus (Rufus).”
Source: JAMA - Category: General Medicine Source Type: research