seeds of the heliotrope, castor-oil, and
certain herbs that are still used, by country people, at least, as worm
medicines. For roundworms he recommended especially a decoction of
_artemisia maritima_, coriander seeds, and decoctions of thyme. Our
return to thymol for intestinal parasites is interesting. For the
_oxyuris_ he prescribed clysters of ethereal oils. We have not advanced
much in our treatment of intestinal worms in the fifteen hundred years
since Alexander's time.

PAUL OF AEGINA

Another extremely important writer in these early medieval times, whose
opportunities for study in medicine and for the practice of it, were
afforded him by Christian schools and Christian hospitals, was Paul of
AEgina. He was born on the island of AEgina, hence the name AEginetus, by
which he is commonly known. There used to be considerable doubt as to
just when Paul lived, and dates for his career were placed as widely
apart as the fifth and the seventh centuries. We know that he was
educated at the University of Alexandria. As that institution was broken
up at the time of the capture of the city by the Arabs, he cannot have
been there later than during the first half of the seventh century. An
Arabian writer, Abul Farag, in "The Story of the Reign of the Emperor
Heraclius," who died 641, says that "among the celebrated physicians who
flourished at this time was Paulus AEginetus." In his works Paul quotes
from Alexander of Tralles, so that there seems to be no doubt now that
his life must be placed in the seventh century.

The most important portion of Paul's work for the modern time is
contained in his sixth book on surgery. In this his personal
observations are especially accumulated. Gurlt has reviewed it at
considerable length, devoting altogether nearly thirty pages to it, and
it well deserves this lengthy abstract. Paul quotes a great many of the
writers on surgery before his time, and then adds the results of his own
observation and experience. In it one finds careful detailed
descriptions of many operations that are usually supposed to be modern.
Very probably the description quoted by Gurlt of the method of treating
fishbones that have become caught in the throat will give the best idea
of how thoroughly practical Paul is in his directions. He says: "It will
often happen in eating that fishbones or other objects may be swallowed
and get caught in some part of the throat. If they can be seen they
should be removed wi