The following are excerpts from Pliny's Natural History. For 1600 years the Natural History was revered as a pillar of human knowledge and does represent the facts as they were perceived or believed in the first century AD.

Women have in their womb an animal called a mole, and it moves about.

I find that a woman's breast band tied around the head relieves headache - Over and above this there is no limit to a woman's power.

Almond oil....smoothes the skin, improves the complexion.

To gain weight, drink during meals.

A civilized life is impossible without salt

"To commence with admitted medical aids, that is, wool and eggs" Wool is applied with honey to old sores. Wounds it heals if dipped in wine, or vinegar, or cold wter and oild, and then squeezed out.

White of egg cools inflamed eyes and closes wounds.

Earth worms have a great reputation for uniting fresh wounds, they are used in honey or vinegar....also pounded cypress leaves.

A slice of veal will prevent wounds from swelling....and to make them close fast, use leaves and bark of the elm...or of the vine.

Pig dung, fresh or dried and powdered, is good for wounds made by iron.

Pellets of goat dung kneaded in vinegar and warmed are good for ulcers on the skins.

For poisoned arrows use dog's blood, for snake bite, a mouse cut in two.

For a painful wound, any pebble right side up - or a potsherd applied just as it was taken up - thos applying it must not look back, and make sure that the sun does not behold them.

For chafings caused by foot wear, ash of an old shoe.

For sores of a whipping, fresh sheep skin.

And all wounds will heal faster if bound up with the very difficult Hercules knot.

Fern is recommended for intestinal worms.

Pliny also talks of a plant that some call ephedron. He says that the Greeks hold various views of this plant and that its mere touch staunches a patient's bleeding, it's juice kept in the nostrils checks hemorrhage and taken in sweet wine, it cures cough. This is an accurate description of both the plant Ephedra and it's product, ephedrine, a very precious drug supposedly discovered by the Chinese.