Basic treatments for Hemorrhoids; On Hemorrhoids, Hippocrates

 Why you might read on Hemorrhoids?

If you have an interest in how hemorrhoids are treated this might be of interest. This work gives you insight into how treatment was done originally. It may also make you thankful for modern anesthtics.

In my Self Education project, this is a work that, while informative, is mainly there to round out the corpus.

Content of on Hemorrhoids

On Hemorrhoids is a quick text that covers a few ways to treat Hemorrhoids. The main one being to get pieces of iron made to shape. Then to heat them and burn out the Hemorrhoids. The others are just variations on the theme. He also covers condyloma as a subset of hemorrhoids. The removal of these seems to be far easier with them just being carefully pulled off rather than burnt. He covers how to treat the wounds after bleeding as well. This differs depending on the original method. 

Reflections on Hemorrhoids

Hippocrates idea of how the hemorrhoids form is quite interesting. He states that it is a build-up of bile and phlegm in the rectum that leads to these bleeding growths.

The fact that he gives multiple ways to treat is also quite interesting. He normally is about the best way and presenting that way only.

What others have to say about on Hemorrhoids

From The American Journal of Surgery"These procedures have been carried through the ages with only minor alterations or variations but are the basis for all operations for hemorrhoids in use today."

"The Hippocratic author mentions several possible ways of treating haemorrhoids. Some of these are rather invasive" From The recipes project

Comparisons with other texts

Unlike on The Surgery, this work covers what you would expect. It is a work based solely on its title.

 A bit like The heart, it is focused on the anatomy of the area in question. But unlike The heart, on Hemorrhoids is focused primarily on treatment.

Conclusion

On Hemorrhoids is a simple text that deals with how to treat hemorrhoids. It gives various methods, which is unusual for Hippocrates. Methods today are based upon the same basic principles which are just as invasive. 

Have you read On Hemorrhoids? If so what did you think of it? 

 
Want to read On Hemorrhoids but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

Get a copy of On Hemorrhoids.

It's actually more about bandaging; On the Surgery, Hippocrates

 Why you might read On the Surgery?

On the Surgery is a great recap into how to bandage wounds. Unlike its title, this is the main thrust of the work.

In my Self Education project, this fills a completion role. That is to say that its main value is in being part of the wider corpus and a wider understanding.

Content of On the Surgery

On the surgery starts with a discussion of how the surgeon should sit or stand when performing surgery. From there it diverges into discussions on how things should be bandaged. He covers this both in general in then in specific cases. He states that the bandage must always be tight by the amount they are wound around not by pressure.

Reflection on On the Surgery

This text has very little new information, most of it has been covered in other texts.

That being said the directions for how the surgeon must sit or stand are fascinating. They are mainly about how to steady their hands. Whether this is by resting the elbows on the raised knees or by resting the elbows on the sides of the torso. 

What others have to say about On the Surgery

The internet is rather silent on this work. I wonder if that is going to become more common as I work into the more obscure Hippocratic texts.

Comparisons with other texts

The big comparison here is with Fractures. Both texts deal with, as a secondary thing, the binding of wounds. Both texts give the same basic instructions for bandaging. On the Surgery gives more detail in some areas. One of these is when binding something that might slip like a knee.

Conclusion

On the Surgery is mainly a text about Bandaging wound despite its name. It does go into some discussion about how any surgery is to be done at the start, but quickly branches away from that. We have seen a lot of this material in the work Fractures, though this does give us more detail in places.

Have you read On the Surgery? If so what did you think of it? 

 
Want to read On the Surgery but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

Get a copy of On the Surgery.

Anatomy of the Heart; The heart, Hippocrates

Why you might read The Heart?

The heart is a quick read. It gives us an idea of how the heart was understood in early medicine. As well as giving a basic anatomical description.

For my Self Education project, it mainly is a text that is about having an understanding of the whole corpus of Hippocrates. It gives insight, also, into how anatomical deductions were made at the time.

Content of The Heart

The Heart is a short text on exactly that the Heart. Hippocrates focuses mainly on the physical structure of the heart. He correctly ascertains that there are two main chambers but fails to notice the divisions of those chambers. He does notice the valves of the heart though he incorrectly determines their uses. He does not posit that the heart is for pumping blood, but does come to the conclusion that it is like bellows.

Reflections on The Heart

Hippocrates assumptions around the function of the heart are quite interesting. He thinks it is a hot organ next to the cold lungs. We now know body temperature to be a lot more consistent than that. He rightly points out that without the valves of the heart open no blood would flow. He states that is removing a heart from a cadaver you will find blood on the right side but no the left. He uses this to state that it is just this side that the blood moves through. this is incorrect but it is easy to see how he got to this.


What others have to say about The Heart

"Hippocrates’ writings on the heart contain some of the best clinical descriptions recorded in history" From a paper by Tsung O. Cheng

Comparisons with other texts

This work had a great deal of similarity to The Nature of Man. Both this and the Nature of Man cover the physical reality of medicine. As well as descriptions of the physical parts. The heart is just a description of the physical heart. Whereas the Nature of Man covers most of the body in less detail.

It is less detailed than The Nature of the Child. This is due to the more focused topic. As well as the lack of need for the development stages that we see in the Nature of the Child.

Conclusion

The Heart is a simple description of the heart and its function. Though Hippocrates does make some incorrect deductions it is still very informative. We have seen that Hippocrates was the closest to what we know now that is seen up to his time in history. As well as how this text is similar to the two works that are about the Nature of Man and of the Child.

Have you read The Heart? If so what did you think of it? 

 
Want to read The Heart but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

Get a copy of The Heart.

Big life changes and small blog changes

Exciting news! We are expecting a little boy in a couple of months. We are super excited and super pleased. But there is no way I can post weekly with a newborn. So I will finish this month with weekly posts. Then I will be moving to one post a month for the foreseeable future. I don't want to go on yet another hiatus so this is a preventative measure. If I find that I get a long way ahead I may put up bonus posts but I don't want to commit to a high workload.

A story of a lost love; The Book of Duchess, Geoffrey Chaucer

 Why might you read The Book of Duchess?

The Book of Duchess is Chaucer's first poem as such it gives us insight into the early works of Chaucer. Chaucer is seen as the father of modern literature. While the Canterbury Tales are more famous going back to the start of a career has its advantages. As we move through his works we have the chance to see how he grows as a writer and how his approach changes over time. 

In my Self Education project, it would be remiss to miss out on Chaucer. Especially with how much his work informs later works.

The story of The Book of Duchess

The Poem starts with the narrator lamenting that he can't sleep. So he reads a book with the story of Ceyx and Alcyone. Where he dies at sea and she after looking for him prays to Juno. Juno then sends Morpheus to go and find him. He brings him back from his death at sea. His wife then gets to bury him.

The narrator then falls asleep. He dreams of a hunt and quickly follows it. Once out in the forest, he finds a black knight. The night is composing poetry to his love. The narrator tries to console him for he is distraught. In doing so he references Troy and other love stories of the greek world where the love is not returned. The knight tells him that these pale in comparison. He goes on to use an analogy of a chess match in which he loses his Queen. The narrator does not grasp that the knight's love is dead. The narrator proceeds to ask where his love is and the Knight answers plainly that she is dead. The narrator laments with him. The narrator then wakes.

Reflections on The Book of Duchess

Middle English is hard work. I found that by the end of reading it I had a grasp of the parts of the story but no idea how they fitted together. A little internet research fixed this but it is the first time I have had to have any kind of reading aid. In saying that this is the first non translated work so maybe I shouldn't be surprised.

That the narrator references other classical sources is quite interesting. It made me glad I have read so much in my BC list so far. He uses both Greek and Biblical references. He does so in passing which means he must assume the reader knows these works.

The two parts of the poem are interesting because while they have a similar theme they do not have a lot else in common. They contrast each other in terms of simplicity. With the retold story being simple and the main story being rather complex.

What others have to say about The Book of Duchess

"composed c. 1370 CE in honor of Blanche, Duchess of Lancaster (l. 1342-1368 CE), wife of John of Gaunt (l. 1340-1399 CE), Duke of Lancaster and Chaucer's best friend." From ancient.ed

"But it’s a dream after all, a sequence of allusions, and perhaps the real message lies in a series of hints that Chaucer drops" From eleusinianm

Comparisons with other texts

Like the Medieval Miracle Plays, the English is archaic. By contrast, though the plays use much simpler language. Some of this can be put down to the difference in style, being plays instead of poetry. Also, it can be put down to the audience, the plays are for the common people where as Chaucer is writing for Nobility.

The portrayal of the knight is quite different from what we see of our protagonists in the Volsung Saga. The knight is not heroic or dashing, doing great dead. Instead, he is retiring and feeling a great loss.

Conclusion

The play covers both the story of Ceyx and Alcyone and the lamenting of the black knight for his lost love. The archaic language it is written in is a challenge to read but still rewarding. Chaucer wrote it for a friend who was grieving a dead wife. It is the first of its kind I have read but it still has links to older texts. These links are seen both in the text as well as in the comparisons we have seen to texts that are in someways contemporary at least in my list.

Have you read The Book of Duchess? If so what did you think of it? 

 
Want to read The Book of Duchess but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

Get a copy of The Book of Duchess.

Conception and Pregnancy; The Seed and The Nature of the Child, Hippocrates

 Why you might read The Seed and The Nature of the Child?

The Seed and the Nature of the Child is an interesting dive into early embryology. It shows us the genesis of some other ideas we hold now. Although it posits some things we now know to be untrue. It is none the less an eye-opener into early greek medicine. That being said it covers more of what is happening and less actual treatment based medicine.

In my Self Education project, it stands as a genesis of embryology.

Content of The Seed and The Nature of the Child

Hippocrates starts with the male sperm. He follows this with the female sperm and conception. He states that conception is when the female body holds onto the male sperm. He also states that when the male sperm is greater you will get a male child. The same, he says is true, of it the female sperm is dominant you will get a female child. He also spends a bit of time discussing the moistening of the female womb.

After conception, he speaks of the warmth generated being taken in by the foetus. This is, he says, how the foetus first grows. He then goes on to explain how the breath starts in the foetus and how it breaths. this is both on its own in the warmth and from its mother the cool air of outside. He talks of the separating of the limbs. How long that takes depends on the sex of the child. He first spends a lot of time proving this but comparing it to how long the woman discharges after birth. Second, he gets sidetracked into the life cycle of trees. This is in order to make comparisons to the growing bones in the child. He finishes with another sidetrack. This takes the form of the temperature of surface water during the winter and summer.

Reflections on The Seed and The Nature of the Child

Hippocrates assertion that there is male and female sperm is one that has been since disproven. Instead, we talk about the male sperm and the female egg. But at least he is firmly of the opinion that the child comes from both parents genetically. In fact, he discusses how the child will be a mix of the parents and there is no way it will not look like either.

His explanation around the breath of the child is interesting. We now know that foetal breathing is essential to lung development. That being said it starts much later, at 10 weeks, than Hippocrates posits. Whether his thoughts are due to an overemphasis on the breath and life. Whether he has come to his conclusion by other means. Either way, it is interesting that he lines up with what is happening to some degree.  We will never know how he got to that conclusion.

His sidetracks while interesting are rather longer than necessary to make his point. His comparisons though show a lot about how he conceives of the development of the child. His comparison with developing chicken eggs is a great way to get some information on the animal kingdom. And you can see he used this to inform his ideas.

What others have to say about The Seed and The Nature of the Child

"it is of considerable interest for the historian of gender." from a paper by Jean-Baptiste Bonnard

Comparisons with other texts

In some ways, this text follows on from The Nature of Man. Instead of staying at a surface level though it delves into reproduction in humans. But like The Nature of Man, it seeks to cover a discrete amount of information.

Conclusion

The Seed and the Nature of the Child set out conception through to birth. It takes what could be known at the time and makes some good guesses at what is going on. Hippocrates takes some interesting sidetracks into the growth of trees and the temperature of springs. This being said he does eventually like them to the topic at hand. His work on the child is interesting in that it defiantly sees the foetus as a person.

Have you read The Seed and the Nature of the Child? If so what did you think of it? 

 
Want to read The Seed and the Nature of the Child but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

Get a copy of The Seed and the Nature of the Child.

How to set almost any type of Fracture; Fractures, Hippocrates

 Why you might read Fractures?

Fractures is the first surgical text that we have seen. As such it fills a gap about how injuries were treated. It is systematic, as we have come to expect from Hippocrates.

In my Self Education project, it starts to fill that gap of how injuries were treated. Injuries being the other part of medicine. It also gives insight into how dangerous a bone break was at the time.

Content of Fractures

The title sums it up nicely! This work covers a complete set of breaks for the arms and legs. It includes breaks that come out through the skin as well as simple breaks. 

Hippocrates starts with basic breaks of the arms and details how to realign them. He moves onto how to bandage them. He then discusses when to change the bandages and when to splint the break. Interestingly he does not recommend splinting until the seventh day. This is after some of the inflammation has gone down. He then moves onto the hands and feet. Then he details broken legs. Interestingly his advice is almost the same for the different types of breaks. He moves onto breaks that break the skin. He spends time dispelling some of the things others do. For example, wrapping around the injury but no the injury itself. He goes on to recommend wrapping with wide bandages. And then treating it very similarly to other breaks. Finally, he deals with dislocations. He instructs how to put back all variations for dislocations for knee, wrist, ankle and elbow. Some even require a group of strong men to be effective.

Reflections on Fractures

=

As I mentioned in the content, Hippocrates actually recommends very similar methods for bandaging. The realignments differ and are given for every type of break. He also recommends waiting for the swelling to come down before setting the bone. Today we set the bone straight away but we do tend to put on looser casts until the swelling comes down.

Hippocrates explains how to design mechanical contraptions. The purpose of these is to help with traction and setting bones without other people.  It is interesting though I found it a little hard to picture in my mind. He seems to think they are helpful but is also very clear that they can be done without

Hippocrates is clear when there is likely to be ongoing issues. For example with shortening of the bone making a person lame. This really hammered home to me how much more dangerous bone breaks were at the time. As well as how easily even a treated break could go wrong.

What others have to say about Fractures

Actually, the internet is rather silent about this work. That being said there are many places you can find a copy of the text online.

Comparisons with other texts

Like Aphorisms, Fracture is to the point. They both cover the exact treatment for different illness or injuries. Aphorisms covers a wide range of illnesses. By contrast, Fractures systematically moves through the possible fractures of the limbs.

Unlike Traditions in Medicine, Hippocrates is not focused on food. He does mention diet a little but it is not the overwhelming way to treat things like it is in some of his other works. Fractures is a more practical manual for a more practical problem.

Conclusion

Fractures is a fairly detailed treatment of fractures of the limbs. It covers them in a logical sequence from the bottom of the leg to the top. Also, it adds in the arms alongside there analogous parts of the leg. For example, the ankle is dealt with then the wrist. I could not find anyone else on the internet commenting on this work. It is a very different work from what we have seen from Hippocrates to this point. 

Have you read Fractures? If so what did you think of it? 

 
Want to read Fractures but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

Get a copy of Fractures.