Source edition
Hippocrates. Oeuvres complètes d'Hippocrate, Vol. 8. Littré, Émile, editor. Paris: Baillière, 1853
Source data
A Digital Corpus for Graeco-Arabic Studies · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This medical treatise systematically explains the physiological nature of "glands" (adenes) in the human body and the mechanisms of the diseases they cause. At the outset, the author describes glands as porous, fatty organs whose primary function is to absorb and regulate excess bodily fluids, noting also their close relationship with hair. The middle section discusses specific glands located in the neck, armpits, groin, and intestines, demonstrating how a failure in fluid regulation leads to inflammation and tumors. Furthermore, the brain is defined as the largest gland in the body, and the work details how blockages in the flow of fluid from the head cause severe conditions such as apoplexy, as well as respiratory and digestive diseases like tuberculosis. Finally, the treatise examines the nature of the breasts as glands, the differences in body density between men and women, and the serious consequences of breast removal, illustrating how crucial the harmony of internal fluid circulation is to health.