Προλέγειν τὸν κίνδυνον / praedicere periculum. Il medico antico tra dovere della cura e autotutela

Ancient medical texts document a number of cases in which the prognosis does not aim to gain the patients’ trust, nor to inform them of their state of health, but to protect the physicians especially in the eyes of the patients’ family. In short, it is a sort of informed consent ante litteram, which the doctor resorts to when the duty of care drives him to operate, while the high probability of failure threatens to compromise his reputation and that of the medical profession. The paper collects and discusses the evidence relating to this form of prognosis, so far neglected by the specialized literature.