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Ancient medical pioneers
What words are in the hippocratic oath
The Hippocratic Oath
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1. Introduction
I’m interested in becoming a doctor. I’m not sure what type of doctor, but I hope that this project will help me decide.
2. The History and Development of Medicine
There were many developments in ancient medicine due to the fact that people get injured and get diseases. In prehistoric times, people used herbs as healing agents. When tribes were formed and the caste system enacted, there were shamans or apothecaries who were the healers.
In 700 B.C., there was a medical school in Cnidus that is the first known Greek medical school that started the idea of observing patients. The Greek centers of medical advice, prognosis, and healing were dedicated temples to their healer-god Asclepius. At these shrines, patients would enter a dream-like state of induced sleep known as "enkoimesis" not unlike anesthesia, in which they either received guidance from the deity in a dream or were cured by surgery (Wikipedia). Hippocrates of Kos is known as the “father of modern medicine.” The
Hippocratic Corpus was constructed by Hippocrates and his students. Hippocrates made the Hippocratic Oath that even physicians today use. Hippocrates and his followers are credited for being the first to describe many diseases, including clubbing of the fingers that are sometimes
referred to as Hippocratic fingers. The clubbing of the fingers is an important diagnostic sign in chronic supportive lung disease, lung cancer, and cyanotic heart disease.
Once the Roman Empire fell in Western Europe, medicine changed into a more localized profession. Ancient practices in medicine were altered because of individual observations and experiences. Surgical practices were greatly improved. Rogerius Salernitanus wrote the book “Chirurgia” which ...
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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.
The doctoring profession draws its roots to the time even before the ancient Greeks and since then, it has grown
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.
Following the Egyptians were the Greeks, who began their study of anatomy around fifth century B.C. (400 B.C.) with the works of Alcmaeon and Empedocles, two Greek scientists. It was during this time that the anatomy of animals was studied and medical schools were built in cities such as Crotona, Italy and Cyrene, Africa. Alcmaeon of Croton was most likely the first person to dissect the human body for research purposes, while Empedocles was the person to first propose the idea that an ethereal substance called pneuma flowed through the blood vessels. Hippocrates was another famous person from Greece. Regarded as the Father of Medicine and one of the founders of anatomy, he was also a physician who studied anatomy and hypothesized about physiology. Hippocrates made anatomical inferences without dissection and instead through observations. He proposed the idea that diseases were not caused by supernatural forces or were punishments from the gods. The well-known Aristotle also contributed to the history of anatomy as he was the first to distinguish the difference between nerves and tendons and between arteries and blood vessels using knowledge gained from animal dissections. Herophilus, another anatomist, is known as one of the earliest “Fa...
Throughout time, mankind has persistently been seeking ways to maintain their health and to cure those that had not been so fortunate in that task. Just about everything has been experimented with as a cure for some type of illness whether physical, spiritual or mental. There has always been evidence of spiritual healing and it will continue to be an important part of any healing process, large or small. In particular, the roots of Native American Medicine men (often a woman in some cultures) may be traced back to ancient times referred to as Shaman. A special type of healer used by the Indians is referred to as a medicine man (comes from the French word medecin, meaning doctor).
Early Greek medicine was more of a divine matter. It was believed that the God Asclepius was the god of medicine. Priests would live at his temples and claimed they knew the ways of healing people. It was not until around 500 B.C., a Greek physician named Alcmaeon began to dissect animals to observe their skeleton, muscles, and brain. This was most probably the first ever to describe a phenomenon through objective observations. Through his observations, he believed that illness was due to an imbalance in the body. This idea prevailed for many centuries in the history of medicine.
Many people didn’t believe in medicine at all. The most commonly used treatment was prayer. Ordinary people relied on methods their parents and grandparents used, such as lucky charms, magic spells and herbal cures. Some of the herbal cures were quite useful.
The summer after my freshman year in college, I went back to Honduras to volunteer with the children who had leukemia at the National Public Hospital. I have never been as intimidated as my first day, when I followed the attending oncologist, while he was showing me the pediatric unit. He also explained my duties, which were attending and playing with the children. When I was left to start my job, I felt almost as nuisance in the midst of that hectic hospital room. Unsure on how to approach the patients, I looked around and found a tender smiling face. Although I was nervous, the warmth of his expression gave me the confidence to walk towards his bed. After a long and pleasant talk, I learned that Diego was from a remote rural town, and that his father visited him three days a week because he had to work to support his family. Diego suffered from a severe form of leukemia and had been hospitalized for nine months. Due to his poor health, he was unable to walk or even sit up in his bed. Hence, he developed atrophy in his legs causing them to lose strength and mobility. Yet with a huge sparkle in his eyes, Diego shared with me his dreams of becoming a great soccer player. As I turned away to retrieve the board games that he requested, I was moved by his courage to dream despite the hardships he was enduring at such a young age. This encounter was the beginning of an important turning point in my life. What initially began as a job became a real duty for me. I felt compelled and obligated to the children whom I interacted with, gaining satisfaction in doing so. At first, it seemed I was doing them a favor but rather it was the children that made an impact in my life. After I left Diego’s bedside that day, I was heartbroken to see h...
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-c. 377 BC)." The Hutchinson Dictionary of Ideas. 2004: n.pag. SIRS Renaissance. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
At the turn of the nineteenth century, medicine was hardly the enlightened profession it is today. Medical practices were often barbaric, employing methods that had been used for centuries, yielding little or no results and often killing the patient with a different affliction than the original ailment. Leeching (or blood letting), purgation, poor liquid diets, and cold water dousing were common practices as late as the 1850's. Even after newer, more effective methods of medical treatment had been introduced, many of the physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries hesitated to use them. Fearing the loss of their reputations, they hung on to superstitious beliefs, doubting the effectiveness of su...
Another primary focus for the next installment of this paper will be a detailed argument of why it would be a wonderful and scientifically beneficial idea to fund and continue research on medical practices in Ancient Egypt.
The motivation to pursue Medicine as a career is frequently presented as a few typical clichés. Some say “I’ve always known that Medicine was the career for me.” While others tout “I was often sick as a child” thus “the hospital was an integral part of my life” while others use the typical “Dr. _______ changed my life and I always wanted to be just like him/ her”. While some these things ring true of my own life experience, there were numerous, sometimes unrelated factors, that have influenced my decision and fueled my desire to pursue Medicine. However, I am particularly drawn to Internal Medicine because of its complex problem solving opportunities, emphasis on team centered care, and the never-ending learning opportunities it affords.
"Greek Medicine - The Hippocratic Oath." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 02 July 2012. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.
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.