Back on the origin on the cephalic and basilic veins

Abstract

Ever since 1879, when Josef Hyrtl first formulated his thesis that the names of the cephalic and basilic veins, as applied to the arm veins, were of Arab origin, a dis­cussion began between philologists and historians of medicine as the former defen­ded the Greek source of such denominations whilst the latter shared the view of the Viennese anatomist. The author, after making a critical review of the -relevant works published hit­herto, unearthes a text drawn from a Persian manuscript dating back to the 15th century that, in his view, confirms the rigthness of the Viennese anatomist's thesis.