Source edition
Hippocrates. Oeuvres complètes d'Hippocrate, Vol. 7. Littré, Émile, editor. Paris: Baillière, 1851
Source data
A Digital Corpus for Graeco-Arabic Studies · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This work explores the physiological mechanisms of human reproduction, conception, and heredity from a scientific and medical perspective. The author begins by explaining how semen is drawn from all parts of the body and the four humors, traveling through the spinal cord and testicles to be released, while also discussing related physiological phenomena like castration and menstruation. It then describes the release and mixing of both male and female semen within the uterus during intercourse, leading to conception. Furthermore, the author details how the sex of the fetus is determined by the strength and quantity of the parental semen, and how physical resemblance to parents is inherited through the proportions of semen gathered from various bodily parts. Finally, the work concludes by discussing how the physical environment of the uterus—such as its space or maternal trauma—affects the fetus's growth and causes deformities, as well as the conditions under which these deformities are inherited.