GREEK BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE 



men, which ought not to be spoken of abroad, 

 I will not divulge, as reckoning that all such 

 should be kept secret. While I continue to 

 keep this Oath unviolated, may it be granted to 

 me to enjoy life and the practice of the Art, 

 respected by all men, in all times! But should 

 I trespass and violate this Oath, may the re- 

 verse be my lot! " 18 



It is unnecessary to detail the scanty knowl- 

 edge of anatomy in the Hippocratic writings 

 or to dwell upon their ignorance of functional 

 physiology. To such knowledge the study of 

 the human body under dissection is essential, 

 and probably Hippocrates and his school did 

 not practice it. Yet they knew the positions 

 of 'the internal organs, and had a good knowl- 

 edge of the skeleton, of the joints and liga- 

 ments of the bones and the larger superficial 

 muscles. They knew enough to serve the needs 

 of their excellent surgery. Most efficient was 

 their treatment of fractures and dislocations. 

 The surgical treatises among the Hippocratic 

 writings — On Injuries of the Head, On Frac- 

 tures, On Dislocations — have evoked the 

 praise of surgeons in all times. Although they 

 had no special knowledge of antiseptics and 

 asepsis, they practiced scrupulous cleanliness 

 [36] 



