The Contribution of Hippocrates to Medicine

369 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Hippocrates contribution to medicine

The Contribution of Hippocrates to Medicine

Greek doctors tried to understand what caused disease through careful

observation of people who were ill. They saw that when someone was ill

there was usually a liquid coming out of the body, for example phlegm

from nose or vomit from the stomach. They decided that these liquids

(which they called humours) must somehow be the causes of illness. The

liquid or humour must be coming out of the body because there was too

much of it. The humours had got out of balance with each other.

Hippocrates, the most famous Greek doctor, who developed the theory of

the four humours, told all of his students that illnesses could be

treated without the use of magic. He said all they had to do was

discover the nature of each disease. Then they would be able to treat

it.

The Hippocratic Oath

The Hippocratic Oath is still used today. It makes clear that doctors

do not use magic. They have to keep high standards of treatment and

behaviour and work for the benefit of patients rather than making

themselves rich. This also offered patients the right to

confidentiality.

Books

The Hippocratic collection contains books which doctors used for

centuries. Hippocrates may not have written all of these books and

historians cannot tell who did write them. This collection is

important because it is the first detailed list of symptoms and

treatments. Doctors continued to use the theories of Hippocrates as

the basis of their own work for hundreds of years.

Recording and Observing

Hippocrates showed how important it was to observe and record

carefully the symptoms and development of diseases. This had two

advantages. Doctors were more likely to choose the right cure if they

took care to find the cause of the problem. These notes could also be

used to help with the diagnosis and treatment of future patients.

Causes of disease & natural treatments

Hippocrates developed the theory of the four humours to explain the

causes of disease.

Show More
Related

  • Hippocrates Humoralism

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    Beginning around 460 BC, the concept of humoralism emerged throughout the written works of Hippocrates. These early works, some of the only medical works of this detailed nature to survive this period, delineated one of the first ways scholars and physicians viewed the body and more importantly illness. Shaped by the Hippocratics’ version of humoralism and his own interpretations of their written works, Galen resolutely supported the fundamental four-element theory, the notion of the four humors, and the essential practice of healing by applying opposites by physicians. However, Galen’s education in anatomy proved an effective advance in his medical reasoning away from a non-ontological view of illness into a considerably more ontological and

    Read More

  • Hippocrates’ Role in the Shift From Irrational to Rational Medicine in Ancient Greece

    2347 Words  | 5 Pages

    Hippocrates. On Regimen in Acute Diseases. Trans. Adams, Francis. Ca 400 BC. MS. The Internet Classics Archive: 441 Searchable Works of Classical Literature. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Web. 11 Apr. 2015.

    Read More

  • Past to Present: a Comparative Look at Hippocrates and Medical Theory

    1437 Words  | 3 Pages

    He wrote the first complete medical books, called, Hippocratic Corpus, a collection of approximately 70 different works that described his medical theories and practices (“Hippocrates”, 1998). He also created the Hippocratic Oath, a document that outlines the ethics and morals of medicine. Although not in their original forms, both Hippocratic Corpus and the Hippocratic Oath are used today. During commencement, graduating medical students around the United States recite a modernized version of the Hippocratic Oath. This oath upholds physicians to the ethical code of medicine, allowing the patient to receive the best possible medical care.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Doctors In The Elizabethan Era

    1574 Words  | 4 Pages

    Doctors believed the human body was part of the universe, so they used elements for each humour, “Yellow bile was the equivalent of fire. Phlegm was the equivalent of water. Black bile was the equivalent of earth and blood was the equivalent of air”(“Shakespearean and Elizabethan Medicine”). Also, because of their beliefs and lack of knowledge on serious medical conditions, most severe cases were not treated accurately. Some doctors believed if a person broke a bone, then it was never supposed to be used again because the accident was based from many sins of the soul (“Shakespearean and Elizabethan Medicine”).

    Read More

  • Medicine in The Elizabethan Era

    931 Words  | 2 Pages

    All the knowledge these doctors knew was based on: Humour, what brain function each internal organ controls, and how to protect themselves from it. Furthermore, the basic knowledge all these doctors knew was: There are only four elements in the world, each element represented a humour, and all four humours are balanced in the human body. Humours are “natural bodily fluids”. They correspond to the elements and have various qualities: cold, dry, hot, and moist.” (Ross)

    Read More

  • History of Streptococcus Pyogenes

    891 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although he lived four centuries before the birth of Christ, a man named Hippocrates recorded the symptoms of diseases we still see to this day. Known as the “Father of Medicine” (Hippocrates), Hippocrates was an ancient physician who studied and recorded his observances of the body’s infections and physiology. He set forth the foundation for future physicians, and in doing so, is accredited for our knowledge of infectious diseases in earlier centuries. During this time however, many believed the earth and its inhabitants were composed of four general elements: air, water, fire, and dirt. They also believed that any one person who fell ill was being punished by the gods. As a foresighted thinker though, Hippocrates encouraged the idea that humans became ill due to natural causes. In that wisdom, he recorded all his observances of his patients and their illnesses, taking careful note of the bodily symptoms and their progression.

    Read More

  • Relevance of the Modern Hippocratic Oath Today

    258 Words  | 1 Pages

    After reading the classic and modern Hippocratic Oath, it is my contention that the modern vision is still applicable today. First of all, I appreciate the humility of the oath because this oath reminds physicians that they are caring for people not just illness: “I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability” (Tyson, 2001). Sometimes, patients get lost in the shuffle of medicine; they are much more than an illness and need to be treated as such. Patient centeredness is reflected in this oath.

    Read More

  • Hippocrates

    630 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hippocrates used his knowledge of natural healing to help many people recover from what ails them in an attempt to; also, learn more of people’s sicknesses. Hippocrates once thoroughly examined the king of Macedonia, who was very sick at the time, and aided him in “recovering from tuberculosis”- which he did recover from (World Biography, 4).

    Read More

  • Comparing The Hippocratic Oath And Principles Of Medical Ethics Of The American Medical Association

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    Both the Hippocratic Oath and Principles of Medical Ethics of the American Medical Association focuses on giving full benefit to the patient. However, there are some major differences between the oath and medical ethics of American Medical Association on various subjects such as patient’s rights, duties of physicians towards the benefit of the society etc.

    Read More

  • Medicine in the Middle Ages

    511 Words  | 2 Pages

    There weren’t many trained doctors in Europe in the Middle Ages . In Paris in 1274 there were only 8 doctors and about 40 people practising medicine without any official training and they didn’t really understand how the body worked and why people got sick. When making a diagnosis doctors might consult medical books, astrological charts and urine samples. Some doctors believed disease was caused by bad smells or small worms, or the position of the planets or stars. They also charged very high fees, so only the rich could afford them.

    Read More

  • Hippocrates, The Father Of Medicine

    426 Words  | 1 Pages

    of medicine. Born on the island of Kos, Greece in the year 460 b.c., says the

    Read More

  • Ancient Egyptian Medicine: A Comparison of Egyptian and Modern Day Medicine and Reasoning for Continued Research of Ancient Egyptian Medical Practices

    1941 Words  | 4 Pages

    Although it is not apparent whether or not Ancient Egyptian physicians had formal training or not, their methods for diagnosing and handling illnesses were very efficient at times. As a matter of fact, we still use some of their remedies today when we make medicines. Examples of the diagnosis and remedies for diseases in Ancient Egypt can be found in the Ebers Papyrus. This is one of the oldest known documentations of ancient medical practices, dating as far back as fifteen hundred BC. Steven Gilbert, the author of A Small Dose of Toxicology: The Health Effects of Common Chemicals, defines the text as “approximately one hundred and ten pages on anatomy and physiology, toxicology, spells, and treatment recorded on papyrus. The papyrus also has many prescriptions showing the treatment of many disorders by animal, plant, and mineral toxins that still occur today.” Modern-day examples of medical ailments mentioned in the Ebers Papyrus include Asthma, Cancer, and Belly Aches. Oddly enough, the heart, rather than the brain, was regarded as the headquarters of human knowledge in the body because this was where the abundance of emotion was said to be drawn forth from. The heart was also thought to be a means of communication between the people and the gods because people were given insight and instruction pertaining to the gods will through this organ of the body. The Egyptians did not understand how important the heart was in terms of blood circulation, as we understand it today. Their belief was that the heart was connected to all the other parts of the body, via canals, which were used to transport bodily fluids and waste to their appropriate locations. The brain’s only purpose was to transport mucus to the nose, and therefore it wa...

    Read More

  • Greek and Roman Influence in Psychology

    1684 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hippocrates succeeded Alcmaeon and rejected the superstitious ideas of priests being the only healers. He founded a medical school and taught his students that since disease came from something natural, it must be treated by natural means. He believed that the body was able to heal itself by the power of healing of nature...

    Read More

  • Hippocrates: Father of Medicine

    883 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hippocrates was a Greek physician that left a legacy that existed during his lifetime in Classical Greece and continues today. His moral and ethical standards were the foundation of his teachings, along with his meticulous writings concerning the study of the human body. He firmly believed that poor health and disease were the result of a natural process that could be discovered and cured through careful clinical reasoning and observations. Hippocrates travelled throughout Greece teaching and describing disease symptoms, and taught doctors how to analyze and treat specific illnesses or diseases. Hippocrates’s accomplishments give him the respect from doctors and medical professionals around the world that continues even today.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Medicine On Modern Medicine

    1464 Words  | 3 Pages

    The First World War of 1914 through 1918 was the beginning of new era of medical innovations and advancements that were infrequently glorified and somewhat held in high prestige. Beginning in the earlier stages of the war, there was uncertainty in hygienic medical practices and education through notable doctors expertise unfamiliar. Therefore, in the later stages of the war, developing medical knowledge emerged through an increasing need for doctors. Evidently a noteable doctor, Harvey Williams Cushing, aspired to be a change for surgeons and first aid responders in the war. From 1905 on, Harvey Williams Cushing, advanced neurosurgery through a series of operations through his writings. Cushing led a pathway to a team of doctors who perpetually enhanced the performance of medical care today.

    Read More

More about The Contribution of Hippocrates to Medicine

Open Document