Trepanations in the ancient Greek colony of Akanthos: Skull surgery in the light of Hippocratic medicine.

Objective: The study presents seven new cases of trepanations on four individuals from the ancient Greek colony of Akanthos (5th - 1st c. BC) and juxtaposes the paleopathological observations with the Hippocratic treatises.

Materials: A meta-analysis of 42 published trepanations on 27 individuals from Greece.

The skull of Chios: trepanation in Hippocratic medicine.

Cranial trepanation is the oldest neurosurgical operation and its roots date back to prehistory. For many centuries, religion and mysticism were strongly linked to the cause of diseases, and trepanation was associated with superstitions such as releasing evil spirits from inside the skull. The Hippocratic treatise "On injuries of the head" was therefore a revolutionary work, as it presented a systematic approach to the management of cranial trauma, one that was devoid of spiritual elements.