[braydie]

[B][FONT=Impact][SIZE=7][COLOR=blue]In History (obviously) we're doing a prospectus on a Medical University and i need to know what a "Vademecum" is, ive searched the net for answers but have had no luck,
PLEASE HELP!!

[Miss Buxton]

I don't teach medicine through time...but a search on the internet revealed this:

Soranus argues that the best midwives should be literate so that they can be knowledgeable about obstetrics and pediatric theory. Soranus's demand for literacy presumes that there was material for the midwives to read. Soranus probably intended that midwives read his work; and it appears that he prepared a shorter, condensed version as a sort of vademecum. One wonders whether Soranus would have put Pliny the Elder on his recommended reading list for midwives; probably not, for Soranus says the midwife must be free from superstition "so as not to overlook salutary measures on account of a dream or omen or some customary rite...."

Does this mean anything to you?

I'll keep searching...

[Mrs Faithorn]

braydie, on Oct 21 2003, 04:06 PM, said:

In History (obviously) we're doing a prospectus on a Medical University and i need to know what a "Vademecum" is, ive searched the net for answers but have had no luck,
PLEASE HELP!!

'Vade/me/cum' is Latin and translates as "go with me".

As I think is probably clear from the passage Miss Buxton has quoted above, a vademecum in this context is a medical reference book small enough to be carried around easily so that if you need to look something up quickly you can do that without having to rush off and consult a big textbook.

A bit like a 'Revision Guide'!