Esagil-kin-apli
2nd millennium BC
Esagil-kin-apli was a Babylonian physician who served the king during the first Babylonian dynasty early in the 2nd millennium BC (around 1069-1046 BC). Among his accomplishments were his additions to the Diagnostic Handbook, a medical treatise created by various authors in Babylonia throughout the first millennium BC. Esagil-kin-apli’s additions were based on a logical set of axioms and assumptions, including the need to inspect the symptoms of a patient in order to come up with a diagnosis. He felt one could also use the symptoms to ascertain etiology and prognosis.
Heeβel, N. P. (2004). Diagnosis, divination and disease: Towards an understanding of the rationale behind the Babylonian Diagnostic Handbook. In H. F. J. Horstmanshoff, M. Stol, & C. Van Tilburg (Eds.) (2004), Magic and rationality in Ancient Near Eastern and Graeco-Roman medicine. (pp. 97-116). Boston: Brill Publishers.
Horstmanshoff, H. F. J., Stol, M., & Van Tilburg, C. (Eds.). (2004), Magic and rationality in Ancient Near Eastern and Graeco-Roman medicine. Boston: Brill Publishers.