Some 200 surgical instruments of various kinds have been discovered in the ruins of Pompeii but, in general, the contribution of Rome to medicine was not very great. The Romans said Pliny, in the 1st century A.D., got along without doctors for 600 years. In fact if it had not been for the Greeks they might well have never had any. In the early days the Romans relied on herbs and salts as well as some horrible potions like gladiator’s blood and human fat. The first Greek doctor to win fame was Asclepiads in about 91 B.C. and he insisted upon regular diet and exercise, fresh air and cleanliness.