Hippocratic views with reference to the anatomical characteristics of "arteries" and "veins".
The anatomical knowledge, in the collection of books named after Hippocrates' the Hippocratic Corpus, is usually vague and limited. This is mainly due to the respect for the dead held by the ancients. Though the Hippocratic books, for the first time, supported the rationality of the aetiology of diseases, and prognosis and treatment were based on observation, the absence of dissection restricted the means of obtaining knowledge of the interior of the body until almost the time of the Renaissance. However in some cases, surprisingly enough, this ignorance is absent. In this essay we will attempt to elucidate some of the Hippocratic views--either erroneous or up to date--on the anatomy of the vascular system, mainly the "arteries" and "veins".
Christopoulou-Aletra
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Department of History of Medicine, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. ealetra@hellas.med.auth.gr
Gigis
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Paraskevas
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D000715:Anatomy / Q000266:history; D001158:Arteries / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D000076145:Greece, Ancient; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D014680:Veins / Q000033:anatomy & histology*