§3.3#1Συέννεσις μὲν οὖν καὶ Διογένης οὕτως εἰρήκασιν, Πόλυβος δὲ ὧδε.
Syennesis and Diogenes, then, have spoken in this way, but Polybus as follows.
Τὰ δὲ τῶν φλεβῶν τέτταρα ζεύγη ἐστίν, ἓν μὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐξόπισθεν τῆς κεφαλῆς διὰ τοῦ αὐχένος ἔξωθεν παρὰ τὴν ῥάχιν ἔνθεν καὶ ἔνθεν μέχρι τῶν ἰσχίων εἰς τὰ σκέλη, ἔπειτα διὰ τῶν κνημῶν εἰς τὸ ἔξω τῶν σφυρῶν καὶ εἰς τοὺς πόδας· διὸ καὶ τὰς φλεβοτομίας ποιοῦνται τῶν περὶ τὸν νῶτον ἀλγημάτων καὶ ἰσχίον ἀπὸ τῶν ἰγνύων καὶ τῶν ἔξωθεν σφυρῶν.
The pairs of veins are four: one indeed runs from the back of the head through the neck on the outside along the spine on either side down to the hips and into the legs, then through the shins to the outer ankles and into the feet; wherefore also they perform bloodletting for pains about the back and hip from the hams and the outer ankles.
Ἕτεραι δὲ φλέβες ἐκ τῆς κεφαλῆς παρὰ τὰ ὦτα διὰ τοῦ αὐχένος, αἳ καλοῦνται σφαγίτιδες, ἔνδοθεν παρὰ τὴν ῥάχιν ἑκάτεραι φέρουσαι παρὰ τὰς ψοιὰς εἰς τοὺς ὄρχεις και εἰς τοὺς μηρούς, καὶ διὰ τῶν ἰγνύων τοῦ ἔνδοθεν μορίου καὶ διὰ τῶν κνημῶν ἐπὶ τὰ σφυρὰ τὰ εἴσω καὶ τοὺς πόδας· διὸ καὶ τὰς φλεβοτομίας ποιοῦνται τῶν περὶ τὰς ψοιὰς καὶ τοὺς ὄρχεις ἀλγημάτων ἀπὸ τῶν ἰγνύων καὶ τῶν σφυρῶν.
Another pair of veins runs from the head past the ears through the neck—which are called jugulars— running on the inside along the spine on each side past the loin-muscles into the testicles and into the thighs, and through the inner part of the hams and through the shins to the inner ankles and the feet; wherefore also they perform bloodletting for pains about the loin-muscles and the testicles from the hams and the ankles.
Τὸ δὲ τρίτον ζεῦγος ἐκ τῶν κροτάφων διὰ τοῦ αὐχένος ὑπὸ τὰς ὠμοπλάτας εἰς τὸν πλεύμονα ἀφικνοῦνται, αἱ μὲν ἐκ τῶν δεξιῶν εἰς τὰ ἀριστερὰ ὑπὸ τὸν μαστὸν καὶ εἰς τὸν σπλῆνά τε καὶ εἰς τὸν νεφρόν, αἱ δ’ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀριστερῶν εἰς τὸν δεξιὸν ἐκ τοῦ πνεύμονος ὑπὸ τὸν μαστὸν καὶ ἧπαρ καὶ εἰς τὸν νεφρόν· ἄμφω δὲ τελευτῶσιν εἰς τὸν ὄρχιν.
The third pair goes from the temples through the neck under the shoulder-blades into the lungs; those from the right go to the left under the breast and into both the spleen and the kidney, while those from the left go to the right from the lung under the breast and the liver and into the kidney; and both end in the testicles.
Αἱ δὲ τέταρται ἀπὸ τοῦ ἔμπροσθεν τῆς κεφαλῆς καὶ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ὑπὸ τὸν αὐχένα καὶ τὰς κλεῖς· ἐντεῦθεν δὲ τείνουσι διὰ τῶν βραχιόνων ἄνωθεν εἰς τὰς καμπάς, εἶτα διὰ τῶν πήχεων ἐπὶ τοὺς καρποὺς καὶ τὰς συγκαμπάς, καὶ διὰ τῶν βραχιόνων τοῦ κάτωθεν μορίου εἰς τὰς μασχάλας, καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν πλευρῶν ἄνωθεν, ἕως ἡ μὲν ἐπὶ τὸν σπλῆνα ἡ δ’ ἐπὶ τὸ ἧπαρ ἀφίκηται· εἶθ’ ὑπὲρ τῆς γαστρὸς εἰς τὸ αἰδοῖον ἄμφω τελευτῶσιν.
The fourth pair runs from the front of the head and the eyes under the neck and the collar-bones; from there they extend through the upper arms on the upper side to the bends of the elbows, then through the forearms to the wrists and the joints, and through the lower part of the upper arms to the armpits, and along the ribs on the upper side, until one reaches the spleen and the other the liver; then over the belly both end in the genitals.
Τὰ μὲν οὖν ὑπὸ τῶν ἄλλων εἰρημένα σχεδὸν ταῦτ’ ἐστίν· εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ τῶν περὶ φύσιν οἳ τοιαύτην μὲν οὐκ ἐπραγματεύθησαν ἀκριβολογίαν περὶ τὰς φλέβας, πάντες δ’ ὁμοίως τὴν ἀρχὴν αὐτῶν ἐκ τῆς κεφαλῆς καὶ τοῦ ἐγκεφάλου ποιοῦσι, λέγοντες οὐ καλῶς.
These, then, are pretty much what has been said by the others; and there are some among the students of nature who did not indeed engage in such detailed precision concerning the veins, but all alike make their origin from the head and the brain, speaking incorrectly.
Χαλεπῆς δ’ οὔσης, ὥσπερ εἴρηται, τῆς θεωρίας ἐν μόνοις τοῖς ἀποπεπνιγμένοις τῶν ζῴων προλεπτυνθεῖσιν ἔστιν ἱκανῶς καταμαθεῖν, εἴ τινι περὶ τῶν τοιούτων ἐπιμελές.
Although the observation is difficult, as has been said, it is only in animals that have been suffocated and previously emaciated that one can sufficiently comprehend it, if anyone is concerned with such matters.
Ἔχει δὲ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον ἡ τῶν φλεβῶν φύσις.
The nature of the veins is as follows.
Δύο φλέβες εἰσὶν ἐν τῷ θώρακι κατὰ τὴν ῥάχιν ἐντός, ἔστι δὲ κειμένη αὐτῶν ἡ μὲν μείζων ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν, ἡ δ’ ἐλάττων ὄπισθεν ταύτης, καὶ ἡ μὲν μείζων ἐν τοῖς δεξιοῖς μᾶλλον, ἡ δ’ ἐλάττων ἐν τοῖς ἀριστεροῖς, ἣν καλοῦσί τινες ἀορτὴν ἐκ τοῦ τεθεᾶσθαι καὶ ἐν τοῖς τεθνεῶσι τὸ νευρῶδες αὐτῆς μόριον.
There are two veins in the chest along the spine on the inside, and of these the larger one lies in front, and the smaller one behind it; and the larger one is more to the right, and the smaller to the left, which some call the aorta, because its sinewy part is visible even in dead bodies.
Αὗται δ’ ἔχουσι τὰς ἀρχὰς ἀπὸ τῆς καρδίας· διὰ μὲν γὰρ τῶν ἄλλων σπλάγχνων, ᾗ τυγχάνουσι τείνουσαι, ὅλαι δι’ αὐτῶν διέρχονται σωζόμεναι καὶ οὖσαι φλέβες, ἡ δὲ καρδία ὥσπερ μόριον αὐτῶν ἐστί, καὶ μᾶλλον τῆς ἐμπροσθίας καὶ μείζονος, διὰ τὸ ἄνω μὲν καὶ κάτω τὰς φλέβας εἶναι ταύτας, ἐν μέσῳ δ’ αὐτῶν τὴν καρδίαν.
These have their origins from the heart; for through the other viscera, wherever they happen to extend, they pass completely through them, being preserved as veins, but the heart is as it were a part of them, and more especially of the front and larger one, because these veins are both above and below, and the heart is in the middle of them.
Ἔχουσι δ’ αἱ καρδίαι πᾶσαι μὲν κοιλίας ἐν αὑταῖς, ἀλλ’ αἱ μὲν τῶν σφόδρα μικρῶν ζῴων μόλις φανερὰν τὴν μεγίστην ἔχουσι, τὰ δὲ μέσα τῷ μεγέθει τῶν ζῴων καὶ τὴν ἑτέραν, τὰ δὲ μέγιστα τὰς τρεῖς.
All hearts have cavities within themselves, but those of very small animals have the largest cavity scarcely visible, while those of animals of medium size have a second one as well, and the largest animals have three.
Ἔστι δὲ τῆς καρδίας τὸ ὀξὺ ἐχούσης εἰς τὸ πρόσθεν, καθάπερ εἴρηται πρότερον, ἡ μεγίστη μὲν κοιλία ἐν τοῖς δεξιοῖς καὶ ἀνωτάτω αὐτῆς, ἡ δ’ ἐλαχίστη ἐν τοῖς ἀριστεροῖς, ἡ δὲ μέση μεγέθει τούτων ἐν τῷ μέσῳ ἀμφοῖν· ἀμφότεραι δὲ πολλῷ ἐλάττους εἰσὶ τῆς μεγίστης.
With the heart having its pointed end facing forward, as has been said before, the largest cavity is on the right and at the top of it, the smallest is on the left, and the middle-sized one is in the middle between both; and both of these are much smaller than the largest one.