Of Medicine, in Eight BooksCelsus, Aulus Cornelius
History
Of Medicine, in Eight Books
Celsus, Aulus Cornelius
Medicine, Greek and Roman
After a wound is deterged, it must next be incarned; and for that
purpose warm water is so far necessary, as to remove the sanies. The
use of sordid wool is improper; it is better to cover it with such as
has been washed. And there are also some medicines, which conduce to
the filling up of the wound; therefore it is not amiss to make use
of them: such as butter with oil of roses, and a small proportion of
honey; or the plaister tetrapharmacum with the same proportion of
honey, or with the oil of roses; or lint dipped in oil of roses. But
the bath used sparingly is more efficacious; and food of a good juice,
avoiding every thing acrid. When they are almost filled up, birds and
venison and boiled pork may be given. Wine is always hurtful, while
there is a fever or inflammation; and indeed, till it be cicatrized,
if either nerves or muscles are wounded; or even the flesh, if it be
deep. But if the wound is of the safer kind, and only superficial,
wine not very old, given in moderate quantities however, may promote
the incarnation. If any thing is to be softened, which is necessary in
nervous and muscular parts, cerate must also be laid upon the wound.
But if fungous flesh has grown upon it, dry lint restrains it gently;
copper scales more powerfully. If the quantity to be taken away be more
considerable, things still stronger must be applied to eat down the
flesh. After these a cicatrix is very well formed by lycium diluted in
passum or milk; or dry lint laid on alone is still more efficacious.
[Sidenote: _Bad consequences from unsuccessful cures._]
This then is the process of a successful cure. But at times things will
happen to take a dangerous turn. For sometimes the ulcer grows ancient,
a callosity comes over it, and its lips are thick, and of a livid
colour: after which, whatever medicine is applied, does little good;
and this generally happens to an ulcer negligently treated.
Sometimes from an excessive inflammation, or violent heats, or
excessive cold, or too tight bandages, or the old age or bad habit of
the patient, a gangrene seizes upon it. This kind of disorder by the
Greeks is divided into several species, for which we have no terms in
our language. Now every gangrene not only corrupts that, which it has
seized upon, but also spreads. But then the distinction is to be made
between the species by different symptoms. For sometimes beyond the
inflammation a redness surrounds the ulcer, and spreads with pain; the
Greeks call it erysipelas[ET].; sometimes the ulcer is black, because
the flesh of it is corrupted, and the blackness is greatly increased
as the putrefaction goes on, when the wound is moist, and from the
black ulcer is discharged a pale fetid liquor, and the flesh within is
corrupted(67): sometimes also the nerves and membranes are dissolved,
and a probe put in descends either laterally or downwards; sometimes
the bone is affected with that disorder: and sometimes there follows
what the Greeks call gangræna[EU].
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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