A world without Hippocrates and Galen would likely be a world without the modern medical practices used today. Hippocrates being often regarded as the father of medicine, and Galen being arguably one of the most influential doctors to the current practice of medicine; their combined writings played a large role into the progression of medicine. The majority of Galen’s medical knowledge stemmed Hippocrates’ works, as he claimed to be a strong believer in Hippocratic humoralism. Despite the fact that there are clear similarities and of overlap between the methods used by these men, there are also several prominent characteristics that each hold which separate them as well. This statement is supported when analyzing the works of each individual. …show more content…
Both physicians clearly state the importance of foretelling the outcome of a patient's ailment, as well as that the best way in which to do so is by looking at the appearance and symptoms of the patient, as well as the humors being discharged. For example, Hippocrates writes on the dangers of phlegm being expelled from the lungs; stating that it is better if it occurs quickly after the lungs are affected, yet it is a more fatal sign if it occurs later after pain in the lungs begins and is not smooth in consistency (Prognosis, pp. 119). Galen speaks similarly on a disease in the lungs declaring that if noxious humors are expelled along with bronchial cartilage, it is likely that a large ulceration is present, which may lead to putrefaction of the lungs and may ultimately be fatal (Galen on the Affected Parts, pp. 16). Both works include the mentionings of Hippocratic humoralism to identify a prognosis of a patient. That being said, Galen’s prognosis comes with a thorough explanation as to what is occurring within the patient's body, identifying both organs and specifying the cause of the imbalance being due to the ulceration, which will likely lead to death. Galen clarifies that unlike Hippocratic humoralism, which almost never mentions anatomical structures within the body, a physician should be familiar with the activities and normal functions of organs in order to make an accurate prognosis (Galen on the Affected Parts, pp. 16). The idea of prognosis to Hippocratics and Galen are overall quite similar, yet it is in Galen’s writings a different, more structure based conclusion is made which strays from earlier
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).
This internal conflict is a result of the mistakes a physician makes, and the ability to move on from it is regarded as almost unreachable. For example, in the essay, “When Doctors Make Mistakes”, Gawande is standing over his patient Louise Williams, viewing her “lips blue, her throat swollen, bloody, and suddenly closed passage” (73). The imagery of the patient’s lifeless body gives a larger meaning to the doctor’s daily preoccupations. Gawande’s use of morbid language helps the reader identify that death is, unfortunately, a facet of a physician’s career. However, Gawande does not leave the reader to ponder of what emotions went through him after witnessing the loss of his patient. He writes, “Perhaps a backup suction device should always be at hand, and better light more easily available. Perhaps the institutions could have trained me better for such crises” (“When Doctors Make Mistakes” 73). The repetition of “perhaps” only epitomizes the inability to move on from making a mistake. However, this repetitive language also demonstrates the ends a doctor will meet to save a patient’s life (73). Therefore, it is not the doctor, but medicine itself that can be seen as the gateway from life to death or vice versa. Although the limitations of medicine can allow for the death of a patient to occur, a doctor will still experience emotional turmoil after losing someone he was trying to
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)
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.
Medicine in the Elizabethan Era was associated with many sciences. One of these includes Astrology. It was believed that all living creatures were associated with the stars. It was possible to read a persons past, present and future by the positions of the stars and planets. Therefore, if you were to go to a physician, one of the first things he would ask you wa...
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
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...
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...
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”).
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).
Hamdard, explicitly or otherwise, reaffirms the common misconception that humoral medicine is unable to match the accuracy of the West. Throughout medical journals and other works, Hamdard bolsters
Galen believed that the humoral theory suggested by Hippocrates is a valid explanation toward human physiology (Dols 1992). The theory states that the four elements of air, earth, fire, and water, exist within the human body as the four humors of blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm (Dols 1992). Galen expanded on Hippocrates’s work and was able to have an extremely long-lasting impact on human anatomy and physiology (Dols 1992). This explains why medieval people, who are part of a very distant era, used Galen’s work as their main guide to explaining
Medicine was not a legally recognized profession and anyone could claim to be a healer. Firstly, Hippocrates facilitates distinguishing the medical field from other types of healing (magic/religious). Hippocrates understands the need to differentiate from religious healers, “[people who called the disease] sacred were the people we now call quacks … invoking divine element … conceal their ignorance of its nature” early in the field it was hard to for medical inquiry to flourish as exploration on cadavers were not common and surrounded by superstition. Secondly, predictions are an important part of scientific models. Hippocrates asked what the source epilepsy was, he understood phlegm not flowing properly caused epilepsy but what was the source.
As the centuries unrolled and new civilizations appeared, cultural, artistic, and medical developments shifted toward the new centers of power. A reversal of the traditional search for botanical drugs occurred in Greece in the fourth century BC, when Hippocrates (estimated dates, 460-377 BC), the "Father of Medicine," became interested in inorganic salts as medications.
Hippocrates, often called the “father of medicine” was one of the earliest contributors to modern science. He was called the father of medicine because through his medical school, he separated medical knowledge and practice from myth and superstition basing them instead of fact, observation, and clinical ...