P R E F A C E.

"...to me also another single book, in which I made a synopsis of the sixteen books" original Greek: "μοι καὶ ἄλλο τι βιβλίον ἓν, ἐν ᾧ τὴν σύνοψιν ἐποιησάμην τῶν ἑκκαίδεκα βιβλίων". The same author also declared that he intended to compose a book of this kind in chapter 37 of The Art of Medicine original Latin title: "Ars Medica" (Volume 1, page 410, in the Leipzig edition). At that time, he was still undecided and doubtful regarding the index or the title of the book: "I am thinking also of making another single book as a sort of epitome epitome: a brief summary or condensed version of a larger work of them all, which I shall title either The Art of Pulses or A Synopsis" original Greek: "ἐννοῶ δὲ καὶ ἄλλο τι ποιῆσαι βιβλίον ἓν οἷον ἐπιτομὴν ἁπάντων, ὅπερ ἤτοι τέχνην περὶ σφυγμῶν, ἢ σύνοψιν ἐπιγράψω".

That GALEN was truly the author of this book, which now appears in Greek for the first time, is easily seen from the similarity of the writing style. Anyone who has read the writings of this great physician with care will not be able to doubt it in the least. Furthermore, everything GALEN recorded in this synopsis regarding the differences, diagnosis, causes, and prognostications of pulses agrees perfectly with what he explained more fully in his other books on the same subject. Finally, the reasons that led GALEN to publish this synopsis are highly plausible and convincing.