Hippokratic Corpus, Heart (ca 350 – 250 BCE)
Although G does not question its authenticity, it is unlikely that this work was written
by H. P Quaest. conv. 7.1 (699 C–D), our earliest reference, cites Hip-
pokrate ̄s as having mentioned that some things that are drunk pass down the windpipe into
the lungs. The author argues that the heart is the center of the vascular system. Since
A HA 3.3 (513a16–22) claimed to have known this, the mid 4th c. most probably
is a terminus post quem for the work. Fredrich and others, however, dated the work before
Aristotle. Abel, on philological grounds, dates the work in the 3rd c. None of the arguments
for dating are entirely persuasive. A 3rd c. date would correlate with the knowledge of anatomy
of the heart. The author does not appear to be H’ or E’ pupil.
De Corde describes the heart and vascular system, as well as the atrio-ventricular valves.
The heart is described as being like a pyramid and dark red, it is a strong muscle because
of its thickness and texture. The treatise discusses the inlet valves and semi-lunar valves. The
author knows that there is blood-flow from the right to the left side of the heart. Given the
level of sophistication, the author most probably gained his knowledge through dissection,
either by him or others. Possibly he could have been one of the earlier Pneumaticists.
Ed.: Littré 9.80–93.
C. Fredrich, Hippokratische Untersuchungen (1899) 15, 77; K. Abel, “Die Lehre vom Blutkreislauf im
Corpus Hippocraticum,” Hermes (1958) 192–219, esp. 196; C.R.S. Harris, The Heart and the Vascular
System in Ancient Greek Medicine (1973) 83–96; I.M. Lonie, “The Paradoxical Text ‘On the Heart’,”
Medical History 27 (1973) 1–15, 136–153.
Robert Littman
Hippokratic Corpus, Nosological Works (ca 450 – 380 BCE)
Five nosological treatises, overlapping much in content:
(1) Internal Affections (Int.) describes 54 diseases, classified in “head to toe” order, starting with
afflictions of the chest. The compiler divides several diseases into a number of varieties
(e.g. 4 jaundices, 4 typhuses, 3 tetanuses).
(2) Affections (Aff.) in two parts: a nosological section (§§ 1 – 38), wherein illnesses are classified
from head to toe, and which refers several times to a lost recipe book entitled Pharmakitis;
and a dietetic section (§§ 39 – 61), lacking a clear organizing principle. The compiler
claims (§1) that he is writing for laymen (idio ̄tai); but the technicality of some chapters
seems to indicate that this work was addressed to physicians.
(3) Diseases I (Morb. I) in two sections: the first, comprising general remarks on the medical
art, is intended to enable the physician to defend his views in debates with colleagues;
while the second describes internal diseases (“suppurating” and acute diseases).
(4) Diseases II (Morb. II), not the continuation of Morb. I, contains two sub-treatises: the first
(§§ 1 – 11; Morb. II-1) describes 14 diseases of the head and throat; the second (§§ 12 – 75;
Morb. II-2) addresses the same afflictions, and also lists diseases of the nose, chest and
back.
(5) All the descriptions of diseases in Diseases III (Morb. III) have parallels in Morb. II and Int.
However, Morb. III also includes a collection of recipes for cooling remedies (§17), which
has no parallel in the nosological treatises.
Each description of disease in the nosological works includes the identification of theHIPPOKRATIC CORPUS, NOSOLOGICAL WORKS