Source edition
Hippocrates. Oeuvres complètes d'Hippocrate, Vol. 9. Littré, Émile, editor. Paris: Baillière, 1861
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 systematically compiles medical knowledge for identifying the turning point, or "crisis" (krisis), and predicting the prognosis of acute fevers and various other diseases. Throughout the treatise, the critical cycle of days (such as the four-day rule) that determines recovery or death is analyzed alongside diverse bodily signs. The initial chapters focus on acute, continued, and tertian fevers, explaining the relationship between crises and specific symptoms like sweat, urine, excretions, and swelling of the hypochondrium or abdomen. In the middle section, the author presents detailed diagnostic criteria based on changes in excretory properties and systemic symptoms such as pulse, respiration, and insomnia to predict the prognosis or recurrence of fevers and tetanus. Finally, the work details how diverse accompanying symptoms, including mental delirium, headaches, metastasis to joints, and nosebleeds, indicate either the resolution or the worsening of the disease. Ultimately, the text serves as a practical diagnostic guide for physicians to foresee the course of illnesses.