Surgery on the larynx and pharynx in Byzantium (AD 324-1453): Early scientific descriptions of these operations

We present the techniques of various operations on the larynx and pharynx ( incision of abscesses of the tonsils, tonsillectomy, tracheotomy, uvulectom y, and removal of foreign bodies) found in the Greek texts of Byzantine phy sicians. The techniques of these operations were the first to be so meticul ously described and were compiled from the texts, now lost, of the ancient Greek physicians. These medical texts, which followed and enriched the Hipp ocratic, Hellenistic, Roman, and Galenic medical traditions, later influenc ed medieval European surgery, either directly through Latin translations or indirectly through works of Arab physicians.