The Roman nobleman Cornelius Celsus (25 BC-AD 50) wrote a general encyclopedia (De Artibus) dealing with several subjects, among which some had medical content (De Medicina), an 8-volume compendium.
It is the most significant medical document following the Hippocratic writings. In 1443, Pope Nicolas V re-introduced the work of Cornelius Celsus, despite it having been forgotten for several centuries, & it was the 1st medical & surgical book to be printed (AD 1478).
Up until the 19C, 60 editions were published in Latin as well as numerous translations in European languages, the last of which was a French translation in 1876. While Celsus' work is the best account of Roman medicine as practiced in the 1st century of the Christian era & its influence persisted until the 19C, there is some controversy as to whether Cornelius Celsus himself actually practiced as a surgeon or was an encyclopedist who collected in the Latin language the medical knowledge available at that time.
