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BOOK TWO
PART 1
[p. 119]so false as to be detected even by Asclepiades. Now, Erasistratus considers it absolutely certain that, if anything flows from the veins, one of two things must happen: either a completely empty space will result, or the contiguous quantum of fluid will run in and take the place of that
which has been evacuated. Asclepiades, however, holds that not one of two, but one of three things must be said to result in the emptied vessels: either there will be an entirely empty space, or the contiguous portion will flow in, or the vessel will contract. For whereas, in the case of reeds and tubes it is true to say that, if these be submerged in water, and are emptied of the air which they contain in their lumens, then either a completely empty space will be left, or the contiguous portion will move onwards; in the case of veins this no longer holds, since their coats can collapse and so fall in upon the interior cavity. It may be seen, then, how false this hypothesis- by Zeus, I cannot call it a demonstration!- of Erasistratus is.
And, from another point of view, even if it were true, it is superfluous, if the stomach
The term κοιλία is used both specifically for the stomach proper and also (as probably here) in a somewhat wider sense for the stomach region, including the adjacent part of the small intestine; this was the part of the alimentary canal from which nutriment was believed to be absorbed by the mesenteric veins; cf. p. 309, note 2.
has the power of compressing the veins, as he himself supposed, and the veins again of contracting upon their contents and propelling them forwards.
cf. p. 100, note 2; p. 167, note 2
For, apart from other considerations, no plethora
A characteristic "lesion" in Erasistratus's pathology.
would ever take
place in the body, if delivery of nutriment resulted merely from the tendency of a vacuum to become refilled. Now, if the compression of the stomach becomes weaker the further it goes, and cannot reach to an
