Hippocrates treats of fractures in his books _De Fracturis_ (_De Articulis_; _De Vulner. Capit._; _Officina Medici_). He insists that no injuries to the head are to be considered as trifling; even wounds of the scalp may prove dangerous if neglected. Fissures, contusions, and fractures of the cranium are minutely explained and appropriate treatment suggested. He describes the trephine under the name of τρύπανον, _i.e._ the trepan. He says that convulsions are the frequent consequence of head injuries, and that they occur on the opposite side of the body to that in which the brain injury is seated. One of the most valuable legacies of the ancients is this profoundly learned treatise of the Father of Medicine, and it proves to us how high a point the surgery of ancient Greece had reached. He noticed a certain movement of the brain during respiration, a swelling up in expiration and a falling down during inspiration; and although several great authorities of the past denied the accuracy of this observation, it has since been shown to be perfectly correct. (See _Paulus Ægineta_, Dr. F. Adams’ edit., vol. ii. p. 442.) In cases of fracture of the lower jaw, our author directs that the teeth separated at the broken part are to be fastened together and bound with gold wire. So accurately does he describe this fracture that Paulus Ægineta transcribes it almost word for word from the _De Articulus_. His method of treating fracture of the clavicle is admirable; in fracture of the ribs he observes that when the broken ends of the bone are not pushed inwards, it seldom happens that any unpleasant symptoms supervene. In fractures of the arm he minutely and precisely indicates the correct principles on which they are to be treated, and insists strongly on the necessity of having the arm and wrist carefully suspended in a broad soft sling, and that the hand be placed neither too high nor too low. Hippocrates could learn very little from our modern surgeons in the treatment of such injuries. In cases of broken thigh he has indicated all the dangers and difficulties attending the management of this accident; his splints and bandages are applied much as we apply them at the present time, and his suggestions for ensuring a well-united bone without deformity of the limb are invaluable. In fractures of the thigh and leg-bones he lays great stress on the attention necessary to the state of the heel. In those of the foot he warns against the danger of attempting to walk too soon. In compound fractures compresses of wine and oil are to be used, and splints are not to be applied till the wound puts on a healthy appearance. He is fully aware of the peculiarly dangerous character of such injuries, and his observations read like extracts from a modern text-book of surgery. “No author,” says Dr. Francis Adams, the learned translator of the works of Paulus Ægineta, “has given so complete a view of the accidents to which the elbow joint is subject as Hippocrates.”