NOTE ON TECHNICAL TERMS

The following terms require some explanation, as they cannot be translated simply or precisely into English.

ἀπόστασις/apostasis: The process of recovery from a disease is often associated with the collection and removal of morbid humors (harmful material) from the ailing part of the body, an apostasis. Cf. Regimen in Acute Diseases (Appendix) 39:

“All diseases are resolved through either the mouth, the cavity, or the bladder; sweating is a form of resolution common to them all.”
The moment of this resolution by apostasis generally represents the “crisis” of the disease.

ἕλκος/helkos: The meaning of this term is broader than any single English equivalent. It includes any break in tissue, whether internal or external, inflamed or discolored, traumatic or spontaneous. Possible translations include “sore,” “ulcer,” “wound,” or simply “lesion.” The Hippocratic treatise traditionally named Ulcers (περὶ ἑλκῶν) is, in fact, an account not of the pathological phenomenon “ulcer” in the strict dictionary sense, but rather of surface lesions of all types.

κοιλίη/cavity: Generally, this refers to the thorax and/or abdomen, but it more frequently refers to the gastrointestinal tract.