Hippocrates 8: Places in Man/Glands/Fleshes/Prorrhetic 1-2/Physician/Use of Liquids/Ulcers/Haemorrhoids & Fistulas

by Hippocrates

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 eighth volume of the ongoing Loeb edition of these invaluable texts, Paul Potter presents ten treatises that offer an illuminating overview of Hippocratic medicine. Three theoretical works - Places in Man, General Nature of Glands, and Fleshes - expound particular theories of anatomy and physiology and then elaborate on how disease and healing occur in the systems depicted. Prorrhetic 1 and 2 and Physician deal with symptoms and prognosis and with other aspects of the physician-patient relationship. And four practical manuals - Use of Liquids, Ulcers, Fistulas, and Haemorrhoids - give specific instruction for treatments. Thus from the writings in this volume we gain insight into the Hippocratic physician's understanding of the body, his approach to his patient, and his methods for dealing with a variety of disorders.

432 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Aaron Schuschu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read the procedures on hemorrhoids and... holy shit, they used a hot iron and... stuck it where?