Hippocrates: The Father of Medicine
Ever wondered who was the first doctor who actually had great influences on modern medicine? Hippocrates...born in Kos c. 460 B.C.E. and buried in Larissa c. 370 B.C.E. Hippocrates was known as the ‘Father of Medicine’ and he was one of the very first to believe that illness was not caused by the gods, but rather by some type of natural action. Hippocrates was an ancient Greek physician who left a great legacy because he gave people new ideas about how to lead good lives, which greatly affected life then and continues to do so today.
Hippocrates accomplished many deeds. He was credited for healing Macedonia's king from tuberculosis. With all his dedication, Hippocrates fought the Athenian plague from 430 B.C.E. to 427 B.C.E. In c. 400 B.C.E., Hippocrates, started a school of medicine. Hippocrates also wrote a book known as the Hippocratic Corpus, which is a medical reference. One of the most famous documents in the Corpus is the Hippocratic Oath, which talks about how doctors should practice what Hippocrates called the ‘art’ of medicine.
Hippocrates had a huge impact on the lives of many people of his time. He saved the lives of so many people, including those suffering through the three-year Athenian plague. In his school of medicine, he taught an important lesson: keeping track of a patient’s conditions and symptoms. In his book, the Hippocratic Corpus, Hippocrates pointed out that diet and physical exercise can be remedies for ailments. Otherwise, he said, people should take in some type of medicine. In the Hippocratic Oath, Hippocrates pointed out that doctors should ‘treat the sick to the best of one’s ability, preserve patient privacy,’ and ‘teach the secrets of medicine to the next generation.’
Hippocrates’s ideas still continue to have great influences on modern medicine. Today, doctors know what it is to eat well. For instance, doctors and physicians created a diagram to show how much fruits, vegetables, proteins, grains, and dairy have to be present in one’s diet. In Japan, people developed the Shokuiku, or ‘food-education,’ which is a system for a healthy eating routine. The Hippocratic Oath is still being applied today; in fact, most medicine schools require their graduates to adhere to a more modern version of the Hippocratic Oath.
Hippocrates laid out the foundations of modern medicine. He believed that illnesses were not caused by the gods, but rather by a natural cause. The father of medicine, Hippocrates, not only founded modern medicine, but also taught the ‘ethics’ of medicine, which is still followed by doctors today, worldwide.
Sources
"Hippocrates." Famous Biologists Hippocrates Comments. Web. 22 Feb. 2015.
Tyson, Peter. "The Hippocratic Oath Today." PBS. PBS, 27 Mar. 2001. Web. 22 Feb. 2015. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/hippocratic-oath-today.html>.