The Transnationalism of Nephrological Treatises during the Middle Ages

The paper presents the history of the dissemination of knowledge about renal issues during the Middle Ages based on the transfer of manuscripts from the centres of knowledge of the then known world to the periphery. Starting from the Greco-Roman world it follows the transfer of manuscripts and ideas via three main roads. Firstly, the North Road extends till the remote Ireland on the West and Russia to the East, secondly, the South Road reaching Arabia and Central Africa and thirdly, the East Road otherwise named the Silk Road. Emphasis is given to the role of monks (Greek Orthodox, Catholics, and Taoists) and the Arab intellectuals. The ways by which this transport materialized and the people involved (merchants, pilgrims, soldiers) is also discussed. Allowances are made for the merging of historical and mythological data, all of which represent the way society then was viewing the kidney, its role and its ailments.