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History

A number of physicians in the Byzantine Empire studied geriatrics, with doctors like Aëtius of Amida evidently specializing in the field. Alexander of Tralles viewed the process of aging as a natural and inevitable form of marasmus, caused by the loss of moisture in body tissue. The works of Aëtius describe the mental and physical symptoms of aging. Theophilus Protospatharius and Joannes Actuarius also discussed the topic in their medical works. Byzantine physicians typically drew on the works of Oribasius and recommended that elderly patients consume a diet rich in foods that provide "heat and moisture". They also recommended frequent bathing, massaging, rest, and low-intensity exercise regimens.

In The Canon of Medicine, written by Avicenna in 1025, the author was concerned with how "old folk need plenty of sleep" and how their bodies should be anointed with oil, and recommended exercises such as walking or horse-riding. Thesis III of the Canon discussed the diet suitable for old people, and dedicated several sections to elderly patients who become constipated.

The Arab physician Algizar (c. 898 –980) wrote a book on the medicine and health of the elderly. He also wrote a book on sleep disorders and another one on forgetfulness and how to strengthen memory, and a treatise on causes of mortality. Another Arab physician in the 9th century, Ishaq ibn Hunayn (died 910), the son of Nestorian Christian scholar Hunayn Ibn Ishaq, wrote a Treatise on Drugs for Forgetfulness.

George Day published the Diseases of Advanced Life in 1849, one of the first publications on the subject of geriatric medicine. The first modern geriatric hospital was founded in Belgrade, Serbia, in 1881 by doctor Laza Lazarević.

The term geriatrics was proposed in 1908 by Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov, Laurate of the Nobel Prize for Medicine and later by 1909 by Ignatz Leo Nascher, former Chief of Clinic in the Mount Sinai Hospital Outpatient Department (New York City) and a "father" of geriatrics in the United States.

Modern geriatrics in the United Kingdom began with the "mother" of geriatrics, Marjory Warren. Warren emphasized that rehabilitation was essential to the care of older people. Using her experiences as a physician in a London Workhouse infirmary, she believed that merely keeping older people fed until they died was not enough; they needed diagnosis, treatment, care, and support. She found that patients, some of whom had previously been bedridden, were able to gain some degree of independence with the correct assessment and treatment.

The practice of geriatrics in the UK is also one with a rich multidisciplinary history. It values all the professions, not just medicine, for their contributions in optimizing the well-being and independence of older people.

Another innovator of British geriatrics is Bernard Isaacs, who described the "giants" of geriatrics mentioned above: immobility and instability, incontinence, and impaired intellect. Isaacs asserted that, if examined closely enough, all common problems with older people relate to one or more of these giants.

The care of older people in the UK has been advanced by the implementation of the National Service Frameworks for Older People, which outlines key areas for attention.