Naming Pathology from Antiquity to the Early Modern Period

This collection of contributions from international scholars offers a cross-language and multi-period analysis dedicated to the constitution of the lexicon of pathology between the Middle Ages and the early modern period. By analysing unpublished texts and studying sources written in different languages (Greek, Latin, Arabic and different vernaculars), the authors demonstrate that the pathological terminology of the past did not have an unambiguous meaning and therefore, to be understood, must be historicized and evaluated according to sources and context. The volume offers the reader the possibility of observing continuity and change in the perception, representation and theoretic paradigm of the disease lexicon, in a wide range of cultural contexts.