Overview
Amatus Lusitanus, born João Rodrigues into a Portuguese New Christian family, became a prominent physician, botanist, and medical author whose career crossed Antwerp, Ferrara, Ancona, Dubrovnik, and Salonica. His published Centuriae present hundreds of clinical cases involving diagnosis, treatment, uncertainty, and observation. A physician’s oath attached to his work emphasizes care for patients across religious and social divisions. His medical theories remained those of the sixteenth century, but his detailed case histories reveal a practitioner committed to experience and professional accountability. His biography joins exile, science, Jewish return, and medical ethics.
