MINOR SURGERY • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Minor surgery

... temples. The Greeks were a healthy and strong race, mainly because they attended to physical culture as a national duty. The attendants who massaged the bodies of the athletes were called aliptae, and they also taught physical exercises, and practised minor surgery and medicine. Massage was used before and after exercises in the gymnasium, and was performed by anointing the body with a mixture of oil and sand which was well rubbed into the skin. There were three classes of ...

— Outlines of Greek and Roman Medicine • James Sands Elliott