The Medical Profession. There were no organizations in Roman antiquity that governed the study and practice of medicine. One learned to be a doctor as an apprentice to an established authority. Until very late in the Republic, slaves and other members of the lower classes practiced medicine more as a trade than a science. In 46 B.C.E. Julius Caesar extended Roman citizenship to those practicing medicine at Rome, and Asclepiades of Bithynia founded the first regular school of medicine at Rome around 40 B.C.E. Thus, the status of medicine and the people who practiced it became elevated, and by the time of the Empire, doctors enjoyed a more prestigious place in Roman society. Romans in general were suspicious and skeptical about doctors, who were typically slaves, freedmen, and foreigners.

Low Success Rates. The practice of medicine did not always...