The medical treatises collected under Hippocrates' name are essential sources of information about the practice of medicine in antiquity and about Greek theories concerning the human body. In this seventh volume of the ongoing Loeb edition of the Hippocratic Collection, Wesley Smith presents the first modern English translation of Books 2 and 4-7 of the "Epidemics" (the other two books are available in the first volume).
In the casebooks and notes that make up the seven books called "Epidemics"--the title originally meant 'visits'--we can watch ancient physicians observing patients, noting and pondering symptoms, evaluating treatments, and developing theories about the body. They appear to be physicians' notebooks from several areas of the Aegean basin. Smith supplements his clear translation with explanatory notes.
The other works available in the Loeb Classical Library edition of Hippocrates are the following. Volume I: Ancient Medicine. Airs, Waters, Places. Epidemics 1 and 3. The Oath. Precepts. Nutriment. Volume II: Prognostic. Regimen in Acute Diseases. The Sacred Disease. The Art. Breaths. Law. Decorum. Physician (Ch. 1). Dentition. Volume III: On Wounds in the Head. In the Surgery. On Fractures. On Joints. Mochlicon. Volume IV: Nature of Man. Regimen in Health. Humours. Aphorisms. Regimen 1-3. Dreams. Volume V: Affections. Diseases 1-2. Volume VI: Diseases 3. Internal Affections. Regimen in Acute Diseases. Volume VIII: Places in Man. Glands. Fleshes. Prorrhetic I-II. Physician. Use of Liquids. Ulcers. Haemorrhoids and Fistulas. Volume IV also contains the fragments of Heracleitus, On the Universe.
Hippocrates of Cos or Hippokrates of Kos (ca. 460 BC – ca. 370 BC) was an ancient Greek physician of the Age of Pericles, and was considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine. He is referred to as the "father of medicine" in recognition of his lasting contributions to the field as the founder of the Hippocratic School of medicine. This intellectual school revolutionized medicine in ancient Greece, establishing it as a discipline distinct from other fields that it had traditionally been associated with (notably theurgy and philosophy), thus making medicine a profession.
However, the achievements of the writers of the Corpus, the practitioners of Hippocratic medicine, and the actions of Hippocrates himself are often commingled; thus very little is known about what Hippocrates actually thought, wrote, and did. Nevertheless, Hippocrates is commonly portrayed as the paragon of the ancient physician. In particular, he is credited with greatly advancing the systematic study of clinical medicine, summing up the medical knowledge of previous schools, and prescribing practices for physicians through the Hippocratic Oath and other works.