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Hippocrates: Father of Medicine

Another important person in Greek medicine is Hippocrates. Hippocrates is considered the father of modern medicine who continues to influence medicine more than 2000 years later. Although he is as revered as Asclepius, they have very different origins. While Asclepius is a mythological character, considered to be descended from God, Hippocrates is very much a historical figure, whose origin and life is recorded in history. Hippocrates lived from 460 to 375 BCE during the Classical Greece period and practiced medicine in Greece. His contribution to western medicine is rivaled by none other, and his collection of works covers almost every aspect of disease and medicine including infection, hygiene, epidemiology and the human immune system.

Bust of Hippocrates

Also, unlike Asclepius, Hippocrates practiced medicine as a science, not as divine magic. He was one of the first to separate religion from medicine, and sought to match treatment with symptoms.  His observations in the Corpus Hippocraticum (Hippocratic Collection) covered almost every known illness from influenza and malaria to spondylitis. Hippocrates studied the cause and effect of diseases in great detail and concluded that disease was not caused by supernatural powers, but was rather the effect of the environment, climate, and society. Hippocrates is also credited with developing the theory of humorism, which stated that health was controlled by four humors or bodily liquids: blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. He believed that an imbalance between these humors caused disease and illness. Although the theory has been debunked in modern medicine, it was still a significant step towards understanding the relation between disease and changes in the human body. Hippocrates also greatly influenced Galen, another famous physician in the ancient world, who took his medical teachings to ancient Rome and helped spread medical science.

Hippocrates also pioneered the concept of medical ethics. His greatest contribution to medicine is the Hippocratic Oath, a medical ethical code that has guided Western medicine for centuries and continues to be used even today with little change. The oath, which is taken by every medical school graduate, pledges to uphold ethical codes such as

  • Treating the sick to the best of one's ability
  • Maintaining patient confidentiality
  • teaching the secrets of medicine to the next generation
  • Sharing medical knowledge with all those who are interested

Another important contribution which has become the basic tenet of modern medicine also came from Hippocrates- Primum non nocere, which in Latin means "First do no harm". As scientists and doctors race to find a cure and vaccine to treat coronavirus today, this continues to be the guiding principle under which they must work.




Bibliography
Jr., William C. Shiel. “Medical Definition of Hippocratic Oath.” MedicineNet, MedicineNet, 6 Mar. 2018, www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=20909.
Smith, Wesley D. “Hippocrates.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 6 Feb. 2020, www.britannica.com/biography/Hippocrates.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Hippocratic Oath.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 4 Dec. 2019, www.britannica.com/topic/Hippocratic-oath.



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