1210-1298

Italian medical writer and surgeon whose writings helped to preserve the classical tradition of medicine and surgery and the ideas of his mentor, the surgeon Hugh of Lucca. Theodoric, like his mentor, is primarily remembered for using the soporific sponge as a surgical anesthetic, simple drugs for the treatment of wounds, and for the belief that wounds should be allowed to heal cleanly, without the formation of pus. Theodoric's Latin manuscripts have been translated into English under the title The Surgery of Theodoric.