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576 MEDIEVAL ENGLAND
good picture ofthe state ofmedicine at the time. The first part is
mainly therapeutical, containing herbal prescriptions, based
on a wide knowledge of native
plants and garden herbs, for a
large number of diseases, working downwards from those of
the head. Tertian, quartan, and quotidian fevers are distinguished,
and reference is made to 'flying venom' or *airborne
contagion*, that is epidemic diseases
generally, small/
pox, elephantiasis, probably bubonic plague, various mental
ailments, and the use ofthe vapour bath for colds. The second
part ofthe Leech Book is different in character, dealing mainly
with internal diseases and going into symptoms and pathology.
It seems to be a compilation of Greek medicine, perhaps
mainly derived from the Latin translation of the writings of
Alexander of Tralles, together with some direct observation.
A good is example the account of'sore in the side", or
pleurisy,
of which many of the 'tokens' or symptoms are described by
Greek writers, but some are
original; the Anglo/Saxon leech
recognized the occurrence oftraumatic pleurisy, and the possi
bility of confusing it with the idiopathic disease, which the
ancient writers did not. Treatment began with a mild vegetable
laxative administered by mouth or enema, followed by a poultice
applied to the painful spot, a cupping glass on the shoul-
ders, and various herbs taken internally. Many other diseases
were described, for example pulmonary consumption and
abscesses on the liver, treatment here culminating in a surgical
operation; but on the whole there is little evidence of clinical
observation: no use was made of the
pulse and little of the
appearances of the urine, which were standard 'signs' for the
Greeks and Romans. Anglo-Saxon surgery presents the same
combination of empiricism with literary tradition as the medi-
cine; treatment of broken limbs and dislocations, plastic
surgery for hare-lip, and amputations for gangrene are de
scribed.
A remarkable work, showing the intelligent interest of the
Anglo-Saxon scholars in improving their knowledge of
natural
history in relation to medicine, is the translation into
Old English of the Latin Herbarium of Apuleius Piatonicus,