The Importance of Hippocrates in Medicine
Hippocrates was a Greek doctor. Born in Cos around 460BC, Hippocrates
was the most famous of Greek doctors. He wrote medical books which
have helped improve medical information and remedies. Hippocrates
created the Hippocratic Oath, where doctors promised to treat patients
with respect and would always try to cure them of their problems. All
of Hippocrates work has helped to forward medical knowledge.
Hippocrates enhanced medical intelligence in different areas of
medicine such as causes of disease, treatment and other areas in which
have helped our medical education has expanded to the present day.
There were two categories which Hippocrates helped us understand
medicine, he helped; improve patients health and improve medical
knowledge.
Hippocrates Clinical observation had three parts:
1st Observation - where he would observe the patient, assessing the
patient and then
note the symptoms for future reference.
2nd Advice/Prognosis - where he would tell the patient how the illness
had developed.
3rd Treatment - Natural - herbs, drugs, diet and exercise.
- Supernatural - for worse cases.
Hippocrates and Greek philosophers were the first people who tried to
find new reasons for illness rather than blaming it on Gods and
spirits. This intrigued the Greeks to look closer and find the real
reasons for illness.
Hippocrates had an idea about illness. He believed that the body
contained four humours (liquids); Phlegm, blood, yellow bile and black
bile. When one of these humours became unbalanced then the person
would fall ill.
Element
Qualities
Season
...
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... tell in the future
how the illness was caused and what the symptoms were.
Hippocrates developed the theory of the four humours this helped to
explain the cause of disease. This theory was used for centuries. This
helped improve medical knowledge as this helped to show how the
illness was caused and how to treat it. This also helped improve the
patient's health as they could now tell what caused the illness so
they were able to treat it.
All of these things prove that Hippocrates theories and knowledge was
an important step in medicine. These things confirm that Hippocrates
was important in medicine. Without his theories and knowledge of
medicine we would still be uneducated about medicine. Thanks to
Hippocrates we have taken a step forward and are now able to identify
and cure disease before they have aroused.
Hippocrates believed that macrocosms, often designated the universe and environment, could influence and effect microcosms, like that of the human body. The Hippocratics reasoned this was because all things in the macrocosms and microcosms derived from the same materials. Empedocles, a Greek philosopher, communicated the first four-element theory of matter which delineated the four essential building block to be air, water, fire, earth. All of these elements corresponded with the four humors that, in conjunction with the theories of the contraries (hot, cold, wet, dry), formed Hippocrates’s practice and concept of humoralism (Lecture 3, [FIND DATE]). Hippocrates asserted that each human being contained unique combinations of the four distinctive humors, being yellow bile, black bile, phlegm, and blood, which shaped individuals’ temperaments. Patients fell ill when the balance between these humors was compelled to shift out of equilibrium. Thus, Hippocrates, and his students like Galen, understood that physicians had to have a full understanding of the patient and must subsequently tailor their treatments to achieve the highest form of care (Airs, Waters, Places, 90-91). Consequently, physicians practiced healing with a counterbalance therapy which returned the individual
In modern medicine when an ailment arises it can be quickly diagnosed, attributed to a precise bacteria, virus, or body system, and treated with medication, surgery or therapy. During the time before rational medical thought, this streamlined system of treatment was unheard of, and all complaints were attributed to the will of the multitude of commonly worshiped Greek gods (Greek Medicine 1). It was during the period of Greek rationalism that a perceptible change in thought was manifested in the attitudes towards treating disease. Ancient Greece is often associated with its many brilliant philosophers, and these great thinkers were some of the first innovators to make major developments in astrology, physics, math and even medicine. Among these academics was Hippocrates, one of the first e...
Hippocrates (c. 460-377 BC) was born on the Aegean island of Cos, Greece. He learned his medical practices from his father, Heracleides, and Ancient Greek physician Herodicos of Selymbria. Like many big Greek names of the time, Hippocrates was thought to have come from the Gods. He was considered a descendent of Asclepios, the God of Medicine. Two major creations of Hippocrates have upheld the biggest influence on medical history. The peak of his career was during the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C), where his healing tactics helped Athenian warriors (“Hippocrates”, 1998).
One of the most widely known and important of the beliefs was the humours. It was believed that every living creature was composed of four elements, the humours. They were blood, phlegm, choler (or yellow bile), and melancholy (or black bile). It was believed that the overall total combination of these four elements determined the person’s characteristics. For example, a person with more blood than other humours was hot and wet in their nature, a person with more phlegm was cold and wet, a person with more choler was hot and dry, and a person with melancholy being the dominant humour was cold and dry. It was also believed that too much of a certain humour caused disease. That meant the removing or avoiding the dominant humour could cure any disease.
As a junior in high school, I am considering medicine as a possible career choice. Through my research in this field, I discovered the Hippocratic Oath. The Hippocratic Oath is the most famous of the Hippocratic documents; it has served as an ideal for the professional attitude and ethics of physicians to the present; the historical origin of the oath is so obscure that even the date of its composition is placed from the 6th to the 1st century B.C.
Furthermore, the basic knowledge all these doctors knew were: 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) The four elements are: earth, air, water, and fire. The Humour for earth was black bile meaning melancholic or sad - black bile really is the foam off the top of blood. Air’s humour is blood meaning sanguine or lusty. Water’s humour may gross people out… it’s phlegm meaning phlegmatic or sluggish. Lastly fire’s humour is yellow bile meaning temperamental or angry - yellow bile is also choler (Ross). All four humours are supposed to be balance the cause of diseases were if one was out of balance (Alchin).
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.
The purpose of the Hippocratic Society, hereafter referred to as the Society, shall be to foster and broaden the intellectual perspectives of those with an interest in medicine; to facilitate this end, the club shall hold regular meetings, sponsor, when possible, academic and social pursuits such as guest speakers, attendances at state and national conventions of interest, and interaction with students at other colleges akin interests.
The improvement of medicine over the course of the human successes gave great convenience to the people of today. Science has cured and prevented many illnesses from occurring and is on its way to cure some of the most dreadful and harmful illnesses. As the world modernizes due to the industrialization, so does the ways of medicine. Some cures are approached by chance, some, through intense, scientific measures.
...ct of bad health and no exercising. Hippocrates has magnificently reinvented aspects and views of many minds, which resulted in various new modern day medicines. To this day, his works and documents inspire many physicians and scientist to go beyond the average mind- truly thinking outside the box.
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.
The Romans used both scientific and mythological methods in their medicine. By adopting the methods of Greek medicine; the Romans obtained a solid foundation. They copied Hippocrates, who separated the study of medicine from philosophy and had an overall approach to the health of humans. Hippocrates also observed the habits and environment of humans to accurately determine illnesses and discover treatments. The Romans adapted the Hippocratic method and combined it with mythical and religious views. The Romans used Greek methods, and also included prayers and offerings to the gods. Although all gods had healing powers, Aesculapius, the god of healing, was the most important.
With the creation of Medicare in 1966 in order to expand access for the elderly to the American healthcare system, the ways in which medicine and its corresponding industries were conducted were irrevocably changed. Prior to its inception, only 65% of people over 65 actually had proper health insurance, as the elderly paid three times as much for healthcare as young people (Stevens, 1998). The private medical sector had much more control over who they would treat, how much they would charge, and more; the passing of Medicare freed up the elderly to have reasonable access to healthcare as a consequence of a lifetime of paying into the system.
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...
...onals around the world that continues even today. Hippocrates’s ideas from the fifth century gave humanity “the gift of knowledge”. Hippocrates planted the seed and subsequent generations of physicians and scientists have nurtured and perfected those basic ideas into the more advanced medical practices of today. Hippocrates’s knowledge remains alive today because of his writings that were discovered 200 years after his death.