What are the possible and preferred means of extending the vocabulary in Latin at the beginning and end of the Roman Empire? This book addresses this question with reference to the language of medicine and so offers the first systematic account of a part of this large, rich, and largely unworked field.

Despite the ubiquitous importance of medicine in Roman literature, philosophy, and social history, the language of Latin medical texts has not been properly studied. This book presents the first systematic account of a part of this large, rich field. Concentrating on texts of "high" medicine written in educated, even literary, Latin Langslow offers a detailed linguistic profile of the medical terminology of Celsus and Scribonius Largus (first century AD) and Theodorus Priscianus and Cassius Felix (fifth century AD), with frequent comparisons with their respective near-contemporaries.

The book and the three indexes included in the appendix will be used as an essential reference tool for future research.