Vinegar and occasionally boiling water were used to disinfect their instruments. Although evidence to support the theory behind germs and bacteria is still lacking, the Roman army proved to be an excellent form of "residency" or training ground for many doctors who learned through experience that workstations, wounded and the wounds had to be kept hygienic. There is also evidence to support that the great Roman scholar Varro had a concept related to contagion. As for medical instruments, the Romans had an assortment of sophisticated and specialized instruments, including scalpels, various types of retractors, forceps, and tourniquets—a remarkably advanced piece of medical hardware for its time, I must add. Many of the previously mentioned tools were discovered at the site of