Grigor Magistr

(also Grigoris). Years of birth and death unknown. Thirteenth-century Armenian philosopher and physician; pupil of M. Geratsi.

Grigor Magistr held that man was a particle of world nature and therefore that his organism should be studied only in connection with the environment. The classic symptoms of malaria were known to him. Three hundred years before Fracastoro, Grigor Magistr pointed out the three ways a virus may spread: by contact, through household objects, and through the air. In studying the mechanism of development of various diseases, he attached importance to constitutional characteristics and to the nervous and mental condition of the patient. Some of Grigor Magistr’s medical contentions indicate that he performed autopsies. He described a number of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (gastritis, stomach tumors, and volvulus). He affirmed the physiological and pathophysiological unity of the human organism. To avoid illness, he recommended a hygienic regimen.