Ubi pus, ibi evacua
“Where there is pus, drain it.”
Medical maxim
What does “Ubi pus, ibi evacua” mean?
Ubi pus, ibi evacua translates as “Where there is pus, drain it.”
An infection must be drained before healing can begin. Figuratively, problems must be opened and cleaned out, not covered up.
“Ubi pus, ibi evacua” word by word
| Latin | English | Grammar |
|---|---|---|
| Ubi | where | adverb; introduces the clause and sets the place or situation |
| pus | pus | nominative singular neuter of pus, puris, “pus”; the subject of an understood “is” |
| ibi | there | adverb of place; answers “ubi” and points back to the pus |
| evacua | drain it! empty it out! | singular command (imperative) of evacuo, “I empty out”; the “it” is understood, not written. To a group: evacuate |
How to pronounce “Ubi pus, ibi evacua”
Classical gives ubi and ibi a hard u/b and short i, and pronounces v as w. Church Latin softens the vowels slightly and says v as in English. In evacua the stress falls on the second-to-last syllable in both systems.
The story behind it
Word for word the maxim says “where pus, there drain”. The verb evacuo is built from e- (“out”) and vacuus (“empty”), so it means to empty something out.
It is a traditional surgical rule: a collected infection, an abscess, does not heal until it is opened and drained. The exact origin of the wording is not firmly documented, and it is usually quoted simply as an old medical maxim.
The same idea is taught in medicine today under the English form “Where there is pus, let it out”. Outside the clinic, people use it for any hidden problem that has to be exposed and cleared before it can improve.
How to use “Ubi pus, ibi evacua”
Fits a surgeon’s or nurse’s office, a medical student’s notes or a mug for colleagues. It also works as a blunt line in a talk on fixing root causes in a team or a project, though it is not a gentle quote.
- Latin
- Ubi pus, ibi evacua
- English
- Where there is pus, drain it.
- Source
- Medical maxim
- Era
- Early modern
- Theme
- Health
Common mistakes
- It is not a metaphor invented by managers. It started as practical medical advice about abscesses.
- Evacua is a command to one person. For several people the form is evacuate.
- Evacua means “empty out”, not “evacuate” in the modern sense of leaving a building.
- It is a maxim of unknown authorship, so avoid crediting it to Hippocrates or any famous doctor.
Questions about “Ubi pus, ibi evacua”
What does “Ubi pus, ibi evacua” mean literally?
Literally “where pus, there empty it out”. In natural English: where there is pus, drain it.
Who said “Ubi pus, ibi evacua”?
No author is known. It is a traditional medical maxim, handed down in surgical teaching rather than from a single named source.
How do you pronounce “Ubi pus, ibi evacua”?
In Classical Latin: UB-ee poos IB-ee eh-WAH-koo-ah. In Church Latin: OO-bee poos EE-bee eh-vah-KOO-ah.
Is “Ubi pus, ibi evacua” correct Latin for a tattoo?
Yes. The grammar is simple and correct. Just know that it is a literal surgical rule, so its figurative meaning will not be obvious to everyone who reads it.
More to explore
Translation and grammar checked by Latin Quoter · last reviewed November 2026
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