Humanitext Reader

Aristotle · History of Animals §1.12-1.14

Structures of the Neck and Trunk and Differences by Sex

Passage 10 of 189 · Greek

Summary

Describes the names and structures of various external and internal parts of the body from the neck to the trunk (such as the esophagus, chest, breasts, abdomen, and genitalia) and discusses the physical differences between males and females.

§1.12Αὐχὴν δὲ τὸ μεταξὺ προσώπου καὶ θώρακος.
The neck is the part between the face and the chest.
Καὶ τούτου τὸ μὲν πρόσθιον μέρος λάρυγξ, τὸ δ’ ὀπίσθιον στόμαχος.
And of this, the front part is the larynx, and the back part is the esophagus.
Τούτου δὲ τὸ μὲν χονδρῶδες καὶ πρόσθιον, δι’ οὗ ἡ φωνὴ καὶ ἡ ἀναπνοή, ἀρτηρία· τὸ δὲ σαρκῶδες στόμαχος, ἐντὸς πρὸ τῆς ῥάχεως.
Of this, the cartilaginous and front part, through which are the voice and the breath, is the windpipe; and the fleshy part is the esophagus, inside in front of the spine.
Τὸ δ’ ὀπίσθιον αὐχένος μόριον ἐπωμίς.
The back part of the neck is the shoulder-point.
Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν τὰ μόρια μέχρι τοῦ θώρακος.
These, then, are the parts as far as the chest.
Θώρακος δὲ μέρη τὰ μὲν πρόσθια τὰ δ’ ὀπίσθια.
Of the chest, the parts are either front or back.
Πρῶτον μὲν μετὰ τὸν αὐχένα ἐν τοῖς προσθίοις στῆθος διφυὲς μαστοῖς.
First, after the neck, in the front parts is the breast, with two breasts.
Τούτων ἡ θηλὴ διφυής, δι’ ἧς τοῖς θήλεσι τὸ γάλα διηθεῖται· ὁ δὲ μαστὸς μανός.
Of these, the nipple is double, through which in females milk is filtered; and the breast is of loose texture.
Ἐγγίνεται δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἄρρεσι γάλα· ἀλλὰ πυκνὴ ἡ σὰρξ τοῖς ἄρρεσι, ταῖς δὲ γυναιξὶ σομφὴ καὶ πόρων μεστή.
Milk also occurs in males; but in males the flesh is firm, while in women it is spongy and full of passages.
§1.13Μετὰ δὲ τὸν θώρακα ἐν τοῖς προσθίοις γαστήρ, καὶ ταύτης ῥίζα ὀμφαλός· ὑπόρριζον δὲ τὸ μὲν διφυὲς λαγών, τὸ δὲ μονοφυὲς τὸ μὲν ὑπὸ τὸν ὀμφαλὸν ἦτρον (τούτου δὲ τὸ ἔσχατον ἐπίσιον), τὸ δ’ ὑπὲρ τὸν ὀμφαλὸν ὑποχόνδριον, τὸ δὲ κοινὸν ὑποχονδρίου καὶ λαγόνος χολάς.
After the chest, in the front parts is the belly, and the root of this is the navel; and below this root, the double part is the flank, and the single part below the navel is the abdomen (the extremity of which is the pubes), and that above the navel is the hypochondrium, and the part common to the hypochondrium and the flank is the bowel-region.
Τῶν δ’ ὄπισθεν διάζωμα μὲν ἡ ὀσφύς, ὅθεν καὶ τοὔνομ’ ἔχει (δοκεῖ γὰρ εἶναι ἰσοφυές), τοῦ δὲ διεξοδικοῦ τὸ μὲν οἷον ἐφέδρανον γλουτός, τὸ δ’ ἐν ᾧ στρέφεται ὁ μηρός, κοτυληδών.
Of the back parts, the girdle-region is the loins, from which it also has its name (for it seems to be symmetrical), and of the excretory part, that which is like a seat is the buttock, and that in which the thigh turns is the socket.
Τοῦ δὲ θήλεος ἴδιον μέρος ὑστέρα, καὶ τοῦ ἄρρενος αἰδοῖον, ἔξωθεν ἐπὶ τῷ τέλει τοῦ θώρακος, διμερές, τὸ μὲν ἄκρον σαρκῶδες καὶ λεῖον ὡς εἰπεῖν ἴσον, ὃ καλεῖται βάλανος, τὸ δὲ περὶ αὐτὴν ἀνώνυμον δέρμα, ὃ ἐὰν διακοπῇ, οὐ συμφύεται, οὐδὲ γνάθος οὐδὲ βλεφαρίς.
And the peculiar part of the female is the womb, and that of the male is the penis, on the outside at the end of the trunk, consisting of two parts; the extremity is fleshy and smooth, and so to speak uniform, which is called the glans, and the unnamed skin around it, which, if it is cut through, does not grow together again, nor does the cheek or the eyelid.
Κοινὸν δὲ τούτου καὶ τῆς βαλάνου ἀκροποσθία.
And the part common to this skin and the glans is the prepuce.
Τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν μέρος χονδρῶδες, εὐαυξές, καὶ ἐξέρχεται καὶ εἰσέρχεται ἐναντίως ἢ τοῖς λοφούροις.
The remaining part is cartilaginous, easily enlarging, and it extends and retracts in a manner opposite to that of bushy-tailed animals.
Τοῦ δ’ αἰδοίου ὑποκάτω ὄρχεις δύο. Τὸ δὲ πέριξ δέρμα, ὃ καλεῖται ὄσχεος.
Below the penis are two testicles; and the surrounding skin is called the scrotum.
Οἱ δ’ ὄρχεις οὔτε ταὐτὸ σαρκὶ οὔτε πόρρω σαρκός· ὃν τρόπον δ’ ἔχουσιν, ὕστερον δι’ ἀκριβείας λεχθήσεται καθόλου περὶ πάντων τῶν τοιούτων μορίων.
The testicles are neither the same as flesh nor far from flesh; and how they are constituted will be discussed later with accuracy generally concerning all such parts.
§1.14Τὸ δὲ τῆς γυναικὸς αἰδοῖον ἐξ ἐναντίας τῷ τῶν ἀρρένων· κοῖλον γὰρ τὸ ὑπὸ τὴν ἥβην καὶ οὐχ ὥσπερ τὸ τοῦ ἄρρενος ἐξεστηκός.
The female pudendum is opposite to that of the male; for the part below the pubes is hollow and not, like that of the male, prominent.
Καὶ οὐρήθρα ἔξω τῶν ὑστερῶν, δίοδος τῷ σπέρματι τῷ τοῦ ἄρρενος, τοῦ δ’ ὑγροῦ περιττώματος ἀμφοῖν ἔξοδος.
And the urethra is outside the womb, a passage for the semen of the male, and an outlet for the fluid excrement of both.
Κοινὸν δὲ μέρος αὐχένος καὶ στήθους σφαγή, πλευρᾶς δὲ καὶ βραχίονος καὶ ὤμου μασχάλη, μηροῦ δὲ καὶ ἤτρου βουβών.
The part common to the neck and chest is the throat-hollow; and that of the rib, the arm, and the shoulder is the armpit; and that of the thigh and the abdomen is the groin.
Μηροῦ δὲ καὶ γλουτοῦ τὸ ἐντὸς περίνεος, μηροῦ δὲ καὶ γλουτοῦ τὸ ἔξω ὑπογλουτίς.
The inner part between the thigh and the buttock is the perineum, and the outer part between the thigh and the buttock is the sub-gluteal fold.
Θώρακος δὲ περὶ μὲν τῶν ἔμπροσθεν εἴρηται, τοῦ δὲ στήθους τὸ ὄπισθεν νῶτον.
Of the trunk, the front parts have been discussed; and the back part of the breast is the back.

Notes

  1. §1.12στόμαχος — In Aristotle, this term refers to the "esophagus" rather than the "stomach." It is contrasted with `ἀρτηρία` (windpipe/trachea) in the front and is located in the back, in front of the spine.
  2. §1.13τοῦ δὲ διεξοδικοῦ — Genitive of the substantivized neuter adjective `τὸ διεξοδικόν`, meaning "of the excretory part/system." It indicates the category to which `γλουτός` (buttock) and `κοτυληδών` (socket) belong.
  3. §1.13ὃ ἐὰν διακοπῇ, οὐ συμφύεται, οὐδὲ γνάθος οὐδὲ βλεφαρίς — A relative clause containing a conditional clause with `ἐάν` and the subjunctive. In the phrase `οὐδὲ γνάθος οὐδὲ βλεφαρίς`, the main verb `συμφύεται` is omitted, meaning "if it is cut through, it does not grow together again, just like the jaw or the eyelid."
  4. §1.13ἐναντίως ἢ τοῖς λοφούροις — The adverb `ἐναντίως` (contrariwise) is followed by the comparative conjunction `ἤ` (than/as), forming a comparison: "in a manner opposite to that of bushy-tailed animals." `τοῖς λοφούροις` is in the dative case, governed by the comparative expression.

Cite this passage

Aristotle, History of Animals §1.12-1.14. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0086.tlg014.humanitext-grc1:1.12-1.14

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