What was hippocrates

Doctors at the time only observed sick people, not the diseases themselves. Most descriptions of internal organs were based on what could be seen or felt externally. Dissections of animals were performed to make comparisons with the human body, but fifth-century Greek ethics forbid dismemberment of humans. Originally, Hippocrates was credited with composing the oath, however, newer research indicates it was written after his death by other physicians influenced by the medical practices in the Corpus.

Though not applied in its original form today, the many modernized versions that exist serve as the foundation for the oath medical graduates take at the start of their careers. Little is known about Hippocrates' death or age, though it is widely held that he died in the Ancient Greek town of Larissa, around BCE.

Many historians believe he may have lived into his 80s or 90s. What is known is that he made a major contribution to medicine and set a standard for ethical practices. We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, together with Socrates and Plato, laid much of the groundwork for western philosophy.

Socrates was an ancient Greek philosopher considered to be the main source of Western thought. He was condemned to death for his Socratic method of questioning. Ancient Greek philosopher Plato founded the Academy and is the author of philosophical works of unparalleled influence in Western thought. The sophists, too, were important, for those teachers of knowledge and rhetoric spread over the Greek world at approximately the same time as itinerant Hippocratic physicians.

Sophists' training taught men how to mount a convincing argument; direct participation in political assemblies and the law courts gave citizens ample practice in distinguishing between the lesser and the better argument and in deciding what constituted adequate proof. Important also seems to be the development of the Hippocratics' medium, the written prose treatise.

In contrast to the writing of poetry, written prose develops slowly in the Greek world; medical writers, historians, and writers of political and judicial speeches seize upon it at approximately the same moment, and in their hands written prose rapidly gains sophistication.

The figure of a concerned and conscientious physician attracted not only a host of apocryphal legends about his great deeds, but also the heterogeneous collection of early medical writings known as the Hippocratic Corpus.

These treatises collected under Hippocrates' name in Hellenistic times, certainly in Alexandria by the middle of the third century B. Ancient scholar-physicians who worked on the treatises as glossators and commentators were bothered by their heterogeneity of styles and their contradictory contents, and they borrowed methods current in Homeric criticism to explain them.

Some suggested that Hippocrates' life was prodigiously long perhaps years! The "best" treatises were judged to be compositions from the hand of "The Great Hippocrates, Father of Medicine" at the height of his intellectual powers.

Galen , practicing medicine at Rome in the latter half of the second century A. The son, Galen supposes, misunderstood his father's intentions, and although the lad expanded what he found, what he published remained, in Galen's view, "unfinished works-in-progress. Contradictions of fact also bothered subsequent readers, and the earliest extant references to the Hippocratic Oath, from the first century A. Neither Scribonius Largus nor Soranus is worried about the historical and scholarly issues regarding Hippocrates, but they do wonder about what the oath prescribes for their own practice of medicine in Rome of the Principate.

Each decides that he can summon Hippocrates as authority on the use of abortives. Scribonius Largus does so to prohibit all abortions, citing another Hippocratic principle, namely that medicine is the art of healing, not harming. Soranus decides that the Oath prohibits only abortive pessaries and that other procedures are permitted when the life of the mother is in danger, and he adds that he would never prescribe an abortive to preserve a woman's youthful beauty or to conceal her adulteries.

The figure of Hippocrates as "Father of Medicine" remains a potent one in medical circles throughout antiquity and beyond, although he is increasingly viewed through Galen's lens, which pictures an Hippocrates who is very much like Galen himself. Fainting was usually seen as a sign that the treatment was working, but death could occur if too much blood was drained.

The four humours theory did not die out with the ancient Greeks. In fact, humourism would remain part of western medicine until as late as the 19th century, when germ theory the idea that pathogens cause disease and other medical discoveries took hold.

As medicine was still a developing field, physicians were often viewed with suspicion. Hippocrates, however, developed a code of ethics that helped turn medicine into a respected profession, and ensured that physicians came to be seen as important members of society. I swear by Apollo the physician, and Asclepius, and Hygieia and Panacea and all the gods and goddesses as my witnesses, that, according to my ability and judgment, I will keep this Oath and this contract… I will use those dietary regimens which will benefit my patients according to my greatest ability and judgment, and I will do no harm or injustice to them… Into whatever homes I go, I will enter them for the benefit of the sick, avoiding any voluntary act of impropriety or corruption, including the seduction of women or men, whether they are free men or slaves.

Whatever I see or hear in the lives of my patients, whether in connection with my professional practice or not, which ought not to be spoken of outside, I will keep secret, as considering all such things to be private.

So long as I maintain this Oath faithfully and without corruption, may it be granted to me to partake of life fully and the practice of my art, gaining the respect of all men for all time. Herophilus c—c BC , for instance, is believed to have been one of the first to perform human dissections during a time when a ban on the practice for religious reasons was temporarily lifted in Alexandria.

Through his careful studies of the body, Herophilus deduced that veins only carried blood it was previously thought they also carried a mixture of water and air , and devised a method for measuring the pulse. Another medical technique that the ancient Greeks utilised was trepanation — drilling a hole into the skull.

According to some historians, trepanation may have been used as a way of treating head fractures, on the basis that recovery was more likely if pieces of dead bone could be removed before infection set in.