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the contributions of hippocrates to medical science
the contributions of hippocrates to medical science
contributions of hippocrates to medicine
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Hippocrates was a Classical Greek physician who left a significant legacy that still stands today. The moral and ethical standards he set for his students were the foundation of his teachings, along with his meticulous writings concerning the study of pathogens and human anatomy. Unlike others during his time, Hippocrates firmly believed that disease was caused by nature rather than curses by divine gods, and taught that diseases can be discovered and cured through careful clinical reasoning and observations. Hippocrates traveled throughout Greece describing symptoms, and taught his students how to analyze and treat specific diseases. Hippocrates’s accomplishments allowed him to gain the respect of doctors and medical professionals around the world that continues even today.
Hippocrates was born on to a wealthy family the Greek island of Kos around the end of the fifth century B.C. Because of his family’s wealth, Hippocrates was given extensive education as a child for nine years in primary school and two more years in secondary school. It is likely that Hippocrates began to study ...
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).
The Ancient Greeks began to believe that illnesses had a natural cause – in about 400 BCE, a doctor named Hippocrates suggested that theories on supernatural causes were wrong, he came up with the idea of the Four Humours, saying that humans became ill when these humours became unbalanced. The Four Humours consisted of black bile, yellow bile, blood and phlegm. He believed that an imbalance in the humours should be corrected – for example, if he thought that a patient had too much blood, he would carry out a blood-letting to balance out the humours.
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.
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 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.
of medicine. Born on the island of Kos, Greece in the year 460 b.c., says the
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).
Although church Dogma still dictated over society, scientist began to turn for supernatural causes such as possession and evil spirits to more scientific causes. Hippocrates, who as known as the father of modern medicine, recognize that the brain was the organ that interpreted sensory information from the world and that disease was not only in the body but also in the mind. He also believed that illnesses including mental illnesses were caused by imbalance within the body. In order to treat these illnesses balanced must be restored. One form of treatment thought to restore balance was bloodletting. Bloodletting was assumed to help, in patients that did not die because of the procedure and these practices continued for many years (Breitendfeld, Jurasic, Breitenfeld, 2014).
The Hippocratic Oath is a moral code for ethical conduct and practice in medicine. It was established accordingly to the ideals of Hippocrates, who belonged to the medical brotherhood of Asclepiads; he was considered the Father of Medicine because he separated the art and science of medicine from philosophy and religion. The oath was written between 470-380 BCE. One version of the Hippocratic Oath states, “I swear by Apollo Physician and Asclepius and Hygieia and Panaceia and all the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses,
The Hippocratic oath has principles that have been upheld by healthcare providers for ages, regardless of the values presented within. There are a plethora of ideals suggested throughout the oath that could definitely be questioned with careful examination. In this essay, I will argue that the Hippocratic oath should be removed as a central medical ethic until it is updated to meet the contemporary medical requirements, because the majority of the values which are instilled within, display antiquity that could be easily reversed with a modern revision.
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...
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.
As previously mentioned, Hippocrates II (460 – 370 B.C.) was known as the father of medicine and although human dissection was forbidden because of religious beliefs, he dissected animals and studied the anatomy of bones. Hippocrates had some accuracy in osteology; however, he was not as accurate in his theories regarding the arteries, which he thought were filled with air because they appear empty in dead animals. In addition, he established the Doctrine of Humors which stated that the body is composed of four major fluids. Future researchers would follow the Doctrine of Humors until it was later proved false.