War Wounds and Arena Injuries: Surgical Adaptation in Human and Veterinary Medicine in Imperial Rome

A surgeon's ability to problem-solve and be flexible under pressure can be the deciding factor between life and death for their patient. This thesis illustrates these skills and the general adaptive practices of surgery in high-trauma environments during the ancient Roman Imperial Period for both humans and animals while exploring the contrast between such developments in human and veterinary surgery. While previous scholarship has focused on the ability of Roman field hospitals (valetudinaria), private medical practices (tabernae medicae), and other trauma centers to provide textbook care, this thesis examines how emergent and high-risk cases required surgical procedures to stray from standard techniques. Additionally, although animal dissections were necessary for the understanding of anatomy and physiology and for the ultimate progression of human surgery, ancient veterinary medicine is constantly overshadowed by the higher-profile practice of human medicine and thus suffered many delays in its development. I examine primary and secondary sources relevant to both fields, with a focus on different high-trauma environments, including the battlefield, entertainment venues (e.g., gladiatorial combat and chariot racing), and other high-risk circumstances. Through these sources, we find that surgical practice in ancient Rome was neither rigid nor static; rather, it was highly responsive to the situation and available resources. Particularly in these trauma settings, surgeons were required to deviate from standard procedures, adapting their techniques and decision-making processes to the urgency and severity of each case. These adaptations demonstrate the skill and resilience of Roman surgeons, making such environments especially important for medical innovations in both human and veterinary medicine and shaping each field's evolution.