GREEK BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE men, which ought not to be spoken of abroad, I will not divulge, as reckoning that all such should be kept secret. While I continue to keep this Oath unviolated, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and the practice of the Art, respected by all men, in all times! But should I trespass and violate this Oath, may the re- verse be my lot! " ^^ It is unnecessary to detail the scanty knowl- edge of anatomy in the Hippocratic writings or to dwell upon their ignorance of functional physiology. To such knowledge the study of the human body under dissection is essential, and probably Hippocrates and his school did not practice it. Yet they knew the positions of 'the internal organs, and had a good knowl- edge of the skeleton, of the joints and liga- ments of the bones and the larger superficial muscles. They knew enough to serve the needs of their excellent surgery. Most efficient was their treatment of fractures and dislocations. The surgical treatises among the Hippocratic writings — On Injuries of the Head, On Frac- tures, On Dislocations — have evoked the praise of surgeons in all times. Although they had no special knowledge of antiseptics and asepsis, they practiced scrupulous cleanliness
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