§1010.
10.
Ὁκόσα δὲ τῶν νουσημάτων γίνεται ἀπὸ τοῦ σώματος τῶν μελέων τοῦ ἰσχυροτάτου, ταῦτα δεινότατά ἐστιν· καὶ γὰρ ἢν αὐτοῦ μένῃ ἔνθα ἂν ἄρξηται, ἀνάγκη, τοῦ ἰσχυροτάτου τῶν μελέων πονεομένου, ἅπαν τὸ σῶμα πονέεσθαι· καὶ ἢν ἐπί τι τῶν ἀσθενεστέρων ἀφίκηται ἀπὸ τοῦ ἰσχυροτέρου, χαλεπαὶ αἱ ἀπολύσιες γίνονται.
All diseases that arise from the strongest of the members of the body are the most severe; for if the disease remains in the very place where it began, it is necessary, since the strongest of the members is suffering, that the whole body suffers; and if it passes from the stronger to any of the weaker members, its cure becomes difficult.
Ὁκόσα δ’ ἂν ἀπὸ τῶν ἀσθενεστέρων ἐπὶ τὰ ἰσχυρότερα ἔλθῃ, εὐλυτώτερά ἐστιν, ὑπὸ γὰρ τῆς ἰσχύος ἀναλώσεται ῥηϊδίως τὰ ἐπιῤῥέοντα.
But whatever diseases go from the weaker to the stronger members are more easily resolved, for by the strength of the member the inflowing matter is easily consumed.
§1111.
11.
Αἱ παχύταται δὲ τῶν φλεβῶν ὧδε πεφύκασιν· τέσσαρα ζεύγεά ἐστιν ἐν τῷ σώματι, καὶ ἓν μὲν αὐτέων ἀπὸ τῆς κεφαλῆς ὄπισθεν διὰ τοῦ αὐχένος, ἔξωθεν ἐπὶ τὴν ῥάχιν ἔνθεν τε καὶ ἔνθεν παρὰ τὰ ἰσχία ἀφικνέεται καὶ ἐς τὰ σκέλεα, ἔπειτα διὰ τῶν κνημέων ἐπὶ τῶν σφυρῶν τὰ ἔξω καὶ ἐς τοὺς πόδας διήκει.
The thickest of the vessels are naturally constituted as follows: there are four pairs in the body. One of them runs from the back of the head through the neck, along the outside of the spine on either side to the hips and into the legs, then through the shins it extends to the outer ankles and into the feet.
Δεῖ οὖν τὰς φλεβοτομίας τὰς ἐπὶ τῶν ἀλγημάτων τῶν ἐν τῷ νώτῳ καὶ τοῖσιν ἰσχίοισιν ἀπὸ τῶν ἰγνύων ποιέεσθαι καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν σφυρῶν ἔξωθεν.
Therefore, one must perform bloodletting for pains in the back and hips from the hams and from the outer ankles.
Αἱ δ’ ἕτεραι φλέβες ἐκ τῆς κεφαλῆς παρὰ τὰ οὔατα διὰ τοῦ αὐχένος, αἱ σφαγίτιδες καλεόμεναι, ἔσωθεν παρὰ τὴν ῥάχιν ἑκατέρωθεν φέρουσι παρὰ τὰς ψόας ἐς τοὺς ὄρχιας καὶ ἐς τοὺς μηροὺς, καὶ διὰ τῶν ἰγνύων ἐκ τοῦ ἔσωθεν μέρεος, ἔπειτα διὰ τῶν κνημέων παρὰ τὰ σφυρὰ τὰ ἔσωθεν καὶ ἐς τοὺς πόδας.
The second vessels run from the head beside the ears through the neck—which are called the jugulars—inwards along the spine on either side past the psoae muscles to the testicles and into the thighs, and through the hams on the inner side, then through the shins past the inner ankles into the feet.
Δεῖ οὖν τὰς φλεβοτομίας πρὸς τὰς ὀδύνας ποιέεσθαι τὰς ἀπὸ τῶν ψοῶν καὶ τῶν ὀρχίων, ἀπὸ τῶν ἰγνύων καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν σφυρῶν ἔσωθεν.
Therefore, one must perform bloodletting for pains of the psoae and the testicles from the hams and from the inner ankles.
Αἱ δὲ τρίται φλέβες ἐκ τῶν κροτάφων διὰ τοῦ αὐχένος ὑπὸ τὰς ὠμοπλάτας, ἔπειτα ξυμφέρονται ἐς τὸν πλεύμονα καὶ ἀφικνέονται ἡ μὲν ἀπὸ τῶν δεξιῶν ἐς τὰ ἀριστερὰ, ἡ δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀριστερῶν ἐς τὰ δεξιὰ, καὶ ἡ μὲν δεξιὴ ἀφικνέεται ἐκ τοῦ πλεύμονος ὑπὸ τὸν μαζὸν καὶ ἐς τὸν σπλῆνα καὶ ἐς τὸν νεφρὸν, ἡ δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀριστερῶν ἐς τὰ δεξιὰ ἐκ τοῦ πλεύμονος ὑπὸ τὸν μαζὸν καὶ ἐς τὸ ἧπαρ καὶ ἐς τὸν νεφρὸν, τελευτῶσι δὲ ἐς τὸν ἀρχὸν αὗται ἑκάτεραι.
The third vessels run from the temples through the neck under the shoulder-blades, then they join together in the lungs, and one runs from the right side to the left, and the other from the left side to the right; and the right one runs from the lungs under the breast both to the spleen and to the kidney, while the one from the left to the right runs from the lungs under the breast both to the liver and to the kidney, and both of these end in the rectum.
Αἱ δὲ τέταρται ἀπὸ τοῦ ἔμπροσθεν τῆς κεφαλῆς καὶ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ὑπὸ τὸν αὐχένα καὶ τὰς κληῗδας, ἔπειτα δὲ ὑπὲρ τῶν βραχιόνων ἄνωθεν ἐς τὰς ξυγκαμπὰς, ἔπειτα δὲ διὰ τῶν πήχεων ἐπὶ τοὺς καρποὺς καὶ τοὺς δακτύλους, ἔπειτα ἀπὸ τῶν δακτύλων πάλιν διὰ τῶν στηθέων τῶν χειρῶν καὶ τῶν πήχεων ἄνω ἐς τὰς ξυγκαμπὰς, καὶ διὰ τῶν βραχιόνων τοῦ κάτωθεν μέρεος ἐς τὰς μασχάλας, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν πλευρέων ἄνωθεν ἡ μὲν ἐς τὸν σπλῆνα ἀφικνέεται, ἡ δὲ ἐς τὸ ἧπαρ, ἔπειτα ὑπὲρ τῆς γαστρὸς ἐς τὸ αἰδοῖον τελευτῶσιν ἀμφότεραι.
The fourth vessels run from the front of the head and the eyes under the neck and the collar-bones, then over the arms from above into the bends of the joints, and then through the forearms to the wrists and the fingers; then from the fingers they run back again through the palms of the hands and the forearms upwards into the bends of the joints, and through the arms on the lower side to the armpits, and from the upper part of the ribs, one runs to the spleen and the other to the liver, and then over the belly both end in the private parts.
Καὶ αἱ μὲν παχέαι τῶν φλεβῶν ὧδε ἔχουσιν.
Such is the nature of the thick vessels.
Εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς κοιλίης φλέβες ἀνὰ τὸ σῶμα πάμπολλαί τε καὶ παντοῖαι, καὶ δι’ ὧν ἡ τροφὴ τῷ σώματι ἔρχεται.
There are also many vessels of all kinds from the belly throughout the body, through which nourishment comes to the body.
Φέρουσι δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν παχεῶν φλεβῶν ἐς τὴν κοιλίην καὶ ἐς τὸ ἄλλο σῶμα καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἔξω καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν εἴσω, καὶ ἐς ἀλλήλας διαδιδόασιν αἵ τε εἴσωθεν ἔξω καὶ αἱ ἔξωθεν εἴσω.
They also carry from the thick vessels into the belly and into the rest of the body, both from the outside and from the inside, and they distribute to one another, the inner to the outer and the outer to the inner.
Τὰς οὖν φλεβοτομίας δεῖ ποιέεσθαι κατὰ τουτέους τοὺς λόγους· ἐπιτηδεύειν δὲ χρὴ τὰς τομὰς ὡς προσωτάτω τάμνειν ἀπὸ τῶν χωρίων, ἔνθα ἂν αἱ ὀδύναι μεμαθήκωσι γίνεσθαι καὶ τὸ αἷμα ξυλλέγεσθαι· οὕτω γὰρ ἂν ἥ τε μεταβολὴ ἥκιστα μεγάλη γίνοιτο ἐξαπίνης, καὶ τὸ ἔθος μεταστήσαις ἂν ὥστε μηκέτι ἐς τὸ αὐτὸ χωρίον ξυλλέγεσθαι.
Therefore, one must perform bloodletting according to these principles; and one should make it a practice to make the incisions as far as possible from the places where pains are accustomed to occur and blood to collect; for in this way the change would be least major and sudden, and you would alter the habit so that it no longer collects in the same place.