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F P Retief

Publications and source records attributed to F P Retief.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Congenital eunuchism and Favorinus.

Ancient Hebrew literature as well as the New Testament differentiate between castrated eunuchs and congenital eunuchs. Congenital eunuchism is very rare today, and assuming that this was also the case in classical times, we investigated possible reasons why congenital eunuchs feature prominently. We discuss the probability that the concept 'congenital eunuchism' might in ancient times have included effeminate men who, according to cultural views on 'maleness' and androgyny, were almost equated with eunuchs. The causes of congenital hypogonadism are reviewed in order to attempt clarification of the condition of Favorinus, a congenital eunuch in the second century AD. We suggest that although he might have been a true hermaphrodite, as suggested by some authors, it is more likely that he had one of the following conditions: functional prepubertal castrate syndrome, testicular gonadotrophin insensitivity, selective gonadotrophin deficiency or Reifenstein's syndrome.

Androgen-Insensitivity Syndrome↗
PubMed2003

The history and pathology of crucifixion.

In antiquity crucifixion was considered one of the most brutal and shameful modes of death. Probably originating with the Assyrians and Babylonians, it was used systematically by the Persians in the 6th century BC. Alexander the Great brought it from there to the eastern Mediterranean countries in the 4th century BC, and the Phoenicians introduced it to Rome in the 3rd century BC. It was virtually never used in pre-Hellenic Greece. The Romans perfected crucifion for 500 years until it was abolished by Constantine I in the 4th century AD. Crucifixion in Roman times was applied mostly to slaves, disgraced soldiers, Christians and foreigners--only very rarely to Roman citizens. Death, usually after 6 hours--4 days, was due to multifactorial pathology: after-effects of compulsory scourging and maiming, haemorrhage and dehydration causing hypovolaemic shock and pain, but the most important factor was progressive asphyxia caused by impairment of respiratory movement. Resultant anoxaemia exaggerated hypovolaemic shock. Death was probably commonly precipitated by cardiac arrest, caused by vasovagal reflexes, initiated inter alia by severe anoxaemia, severe pain, body blows and breaking of the large bones. The attending Roman guards could only leave the site after the victim had died, and were known to precipitate death by means of deliberate fracturing of the tibia and/or fibula, spear stab wounds into the heart, sharp blows to the front of the chest, or a smoking fire built at the foot of the cross to asphyxiate the victim.

Capital Punishment↗
PubMed2002

The evolution of the hospital from antiquity to the end of the middle ages.

The evolution of the hospital is traced from its onset in ancient Mesopotamia towards the end of the 2nd millennium to the end of the Middle Ages. Reference is made to institutionalised health care facilities in India as early as the 5th century BC, and with the spread of Buddhism to the east, to nursing facilities, the nature and function of which are not known to us, in Sri Lanka, China and South East Asia. Special attention is paid to the situation in the Graeco-Roman era: one would expect to find the origin of the hospital in the modern sense of the word in Greece, the birthplace of rational medicine in the 4th century BC, but the Hippocratic doctors paid house-calls, and the temples of Asclepius were visited for incubation sleep and magico-religious treatment. In Roman times the military and slave hospitals which existed since the 1st century AD, were built for a specialized group and not for the public, and were therefore also not precursors of the modern hospital. It is to the Christians that one must turn for the origin of the modern hospital. Hospices, initially built to shelter pilgrims and messengers between various bishops, were under Christian control developed into hospitals in the modern sense of the word. In Rome itself, the first hospital was built in the 4th century AD by a wealthy penitent widow, Fabiola. In the early Middle Ages (6th to 10th century), under the influence of the Benedictine Order, an infirmary became an established part of every monastery. During the late Middle Ages (beyond the 10th century) monastic infirmaries continued to expand, but public hospitals were also opened, financed by city authorities, the church and private sources. Specialized institutions, like leper houses, also originated at this time. During the Golden Age of Islam the Muslim world was clearly more advanced than its Christian counterpart with magnificent hospitals in various countries.

Christianity↗
PubMed2002

Snake and staff symbolism, and healing.

Since time immemorial the snake has been venerated as an enigmatic creature with supernatural powers. As a snake and staff symbol it is also traditionally associated with the healing arts, either as the single-snake emblem of Asklepios, or as the double-snake emblem (caduceus) of Hermes. The mythological basis for this symbolism is reviewed. The Asklepian emblem has been associated with health care since the 5th century BC, when Asklepios became accepted by the Greeks as the god of healing. Whether he was also an historical figure as healer in earlier ages is less certain. The origin of the double-snake emblem is shrouded in the mists of antiquity. In classical times it became the herald's wand of Hermes, messenger of the gods who guided departed souls to the underworld, and was seen as protector of travellers, shepherds and merchants. In the latter capacity Hermes also conveyed a negative connotation as protector of thieves. During the Middle Ages the caduceus became a symbol of the healing sciences (pharmacy and alchemy in particular), and today, although mythologically incorrect, it is in common usage in the health care field.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Tumours and cancers in Graeco-Roman times.

In Graeco-Roman times all tumours (Greek: onkoi, abnormal swellings) were considered to be of inflammatory origin, the result of unfavourable humoural fluxes, and caused by an extravascular outpouring of fluid into tissue spaces. The neoplastic nature of tumours is a more recent concept, barely two centuries old. In Hippocratic literature tumours were mainly classified as karkinômata, phumata, and oidêmata. Phumata included a large variety of tumours, inflammatory and neoplastic in origin, and mostly benign (in modern terms), while oidêmata were soft, painless tumours and even included generalised oedema (dropsy). Although all categories possibly included occasional cancers, the vast majority of what appears to have been malignant tumours were called karkinoi karkinômata (Latin: cancrum/carcinoma). There was, however, no recognition of benign and malignant, primary and secondary tumours, in the modern sense.

Greek World↗
PubMed1998

The epidemic of Athens, 430-426 BC.

The Athenian epidemic of 430-426 BC, at the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War, caused the death of the great statesman, Pericles, decimated the population and contributed significantly to the decline and fall of classical Greece. In his remarkable documentation of the epidemic, Thucydides (who survived the disease) not only left us a clear clinical picture of the pestilence but also identified its infectious nature and the fact that it conferred at least partial immunity on survivors. As confirmed by a large number of scholars who studied the subject, Thucydides' description does not accurately fit any existing disease, but we suggest that analysis of the signs and symptoms, considered in conjunction with significant epidemiological evidence, narrows down the many possibilities to epidemic typhus, plague, arboviral disease (e.g. Rift Valley fever) and smallpox. Typhus and smallpox fit best, but we favour the latter for reasons given. Unless further primary sources of information become available (and this seems most unlikely), productive speculation as to the cause of Thucydides' epidemic has probably reached the end of the road.

Arbovirus Infections↗
PubMed1987

[Strife between the dispensing physician and the pharmacist--a historical overview. I. To 1840].

The historic origins of the medical and pharmaceutical professions, since the dawn of civilization, are briefly reviewed. The development of these professions in Great Britain as a prototype of the European situation over the past 3 centuries is traced, with emphasis on the developing strife between apothecaries and physicians. The corresponding situation in South Africa over the period 1652-1840 is then reviewed. The first Commission of Inquiry into health matters at the Cape, appointed by the British after their occupation of the region in 1806, was precipitated by complaints regarding unsatisfactory services rendered by apothecaries and medical practitioners. Health services were subsequently regulated by way of two Medical Proclamations in 1807, one Medical Proclamation in 1823 and a Medical Ordinance in 1830. According to this legislation apothecaries in Cape Town were not allowed to treat patients, and doctors were not allowed to sell medicines--but due to a shortage of rural practitioners, apothecaries and doctors were allowed to supplement each other in the country districts.

Drug Compounding↗
PubMed1987

[Strife between the dispensing physician and the pharmacist--a historical overview. II. 1840-1928].

The professional interaction between physicians and the pharmaceutical profession in South Africa in the years 1840-1928 is reviewed. The years 1840-1880 were characterised by relatively peaceful coexistence in metropolitan areas, but rather unorthodox developments in outlying rural areas. Here physicians found it difficult to make a living due to fierce competition from medicine-selling traders, self-medicating farming communities and apothecaries allowed to practise as clinicians (even appointed as district surgeons). The establishment of professional and statutory organisations and the promulgation of appropriate health legislation brought stability to the health scene but failed to remove friction between dispensing doctors and pharmacists. After the unification of South Africa in 1910, the two professions co-operated in fits and starts towards the ultimate formulation of the Medical Dental and Pharmacy Act of 1928. The rise of the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry brought a new perspective to the retail pharmacist's professional role.

History, 19th Century↗
PubMed1987

[Strife between the dispensing physician and the pharmacist--a historical overview. III. 1930-1979].

The uneasy relationship between pharmacists and dispensing doctors during the years 1930-1979 is reviewed. The relatively easy association of the 1930s and the early 1940s ended abruptly in the post-war era when the impact of the manufacturing industry rang the death knell of the old-fashioned dispenser and at the same time made dispensing by doctors easier and safer. The retail pharmacist attempted unsuccessfully to define an acceptable new professional role, and the two professions failed to formulate an amicable working relationship. The promulgation of the Medicines Control Act (1964), the Pharmacy Act (1974) and the Medical, Dental and Supplementary Health Professions Act (1974) brought new dimensions to the strained relationship.

History, 20th Century↗
PubMed1987

[Strife between the dispensing physician and the pharmacist--a historical overview IV. 1979-1987].

In 1981 a liaison committee established between the Medical Association of South Africa (MASA) and the Pharmaceutical Society of South Africa (PSSA) to probe the dispensing-doctor issue, published a joint declaration of co-operation. After a brief truce, however, relationships deteriorated again. Pharmacists claimed that the numbers of dispensing doctors were rapidly increasing and each profession accused the other of breaking the agreement. According to the PSSA many doctors were transgressing the MASA's guidelines and the Medical Council's ethical rule 28 by trading in medicines. Subsequent legislation approved by the Council and designed to obviate this problem brought unexpected complications, and led to a joint effort by the Medical Council and the Pharmacy Council to reach an acceptable compromise. In 1984 a tentative agreement was reached but not endorsed by the full Medical Council, largely because of pending recommendations from the Competition Board which would profoundly affect dispensing by pharmacists and doctors. These recommendations were made public in November 1986, and the Government's response to them is still being awaited. The author finally summarises the status quo of the age-old feud as he perceives it.

Association↗
PubMed1982

The Medical University of Southern Africa after 5 years.

The Medical University of Southern Africa (MEDUNSA), created by an Act of Parliament on 1 August 1976, comprises Faculties of Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science. Optimal co-operation between these faculties in teaching, research and even patient care is basic to the education philosophy of MEDUNSA. The first students enrolled 5 years ago, in February 1978, and will graduate on 26 November 1982. Students were admitted to degree courses in veterinary science and dentistry at the beginning of 1982. The training of nurses and supplementary health-professionals (encompassing the fields of physiotherapy, occupational therapy, radiography and dietetics) take place within the Faculty of Medicine. Schools of pharmacy and optometry will open in 1984. Although the university is empowered to admit students to all racial groups it sees its primary task as being the training of Black health professionals. Students of other races are at present admitted only when suitable Black candidates are not available. Academic standards are monitored by respective statutory councils, and are on a par with other, comparable South African health science faculties. MEDUNSA is enthusiastic to co-operate with neighbouring states in the field of health education, and students from as far afield as Malawi and Zaire number among our graduates.

Faculty↗