Hippocrates: a pioneer in the treatment of head injuries

Abstract

Hippocrates' treatise On Wounds in the Head represents an excellent source of information regarding the extent of experience with head injuries in classical antiquity. On the basis of clinical observation, the great physician gives an accurate description of the external appearance and consistency of the cranium. Fractures of the cranium are divided into six main categories, each of which is discussed separately, regarding its mechanism, clinical assessment, and treatment. The medical history and clinical evaluation are considered the most important factors when dealing with cranial trauma. Trepanation, a neurosurgical procedure still in practice today, is presented in detail. As a whole, the treatise, the first written work in medical history dealing exclusively with cranial trauma, reveals that Hippocrates was a pioneer in treating head injuries.