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For other uses of the name Hippocrates, see Hippocrates (disambiguation). Hippocrates of Cos II. or Hippokrates of Kos (c. 460 BC–c. 370 BC, Greek: ) was an ancient Greek physician who lived in the Age of Pericles and is commonly regarded as one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine. He is often referred to as "The Father of Medicine" for his lasting contributions to the field. Hippocrates was the founder of the Hippocratic school of medicine which revolutionized medicine in ancient Greece, separated the field from the other disciplines (notably theurgy and philosophy) and made a profession of practicing medicine. It summed up the medical knowledge of previous schools and defined moral codes and good habits for physicians. The Hippocratic Corpus, the collection of works commonly associated with Hippocrates, was the medium through which Hippocratic philosophy proffered the above and is largely responsible for Hippocrates's renown. The great detail and depth of the descriptions in these historic works are still respected, as is the Hippocratic Oath, which is sometimes taken today in modified form. As the Hippocratic corpus is the primary source for information concerning Hippocrates and the Hippocratic school of medicine, the achievements of all three are practically inseparable.
Biography
Hippocratic philosophy Greek medicine at the time of Hippocrates knew almost nothing of human anatomy and physiology, largely because of the Greek taboo forbidding the dissection of animals. Ancient Greek schools of medicine were split on the matter of how to deal with this. There was the Knidian school of medicine which was focused towards diagnosis, but, dependent upon faulty assumptions about the human body, failed to distinguish when one disease caused many possible series of symptoms. Hippocrates is hailed as the first physician to reject the divine origin and superstition of all sicknesses. He believed that disease was not punishment of the gods but due to environmental factors, diet and living habits. Indeed, there is not a single mention of a mystical illness in the entirety of the Hippocratic Corpus. Hippocrates was not, however, entirely scientific beliefs; he held many pseudo-scientific convictions based on bad anatomy and physiology such as Humorism. Humorism Hippocrates, according to the Corpus, held that illness was the result of an imbalance of the four humours in the body, fluids which were naturally equal in proportion (pepsis). When the four humours, blood, black bile, yellow bile and phlegm, were unbalanced (dyscrasia, meaning "bad mixture"), a person became sick and would remain that way until the balance was somehow restored. Hippocratic therapy was directed towards this end, perhaps utilizing citrus, for instance, if there was thought to be an overabundance of phlegm. Crisis
Vis medicatrix naturae Another important precept of Hippocratic doctrine was based on, "the healing power of nature", or in Latin, vis medicatrix naturae. According to this doctrine, the body contains within itself the power to rebalance the four humours and heal itself (physis). Hippocratic therapy was focused on simply easing this natural process. To this end, Hippocrates believed "rest and immobilization were of capital importance". By these beliefs, he was reluctant to administer drugs and engage in specialized treatment that could be wrong; generalized therapy followed a generalized diagnosis. Methods of treatment
Professionalism Image:Ancientgreek surgical.jpg|thumb|250px|A number of ancient Greek surgical tools. On the left is a trephine; on the right, a set of scalpels. Hippocratic medicine made good use of these tools. He might have even measured a patient's pulse when taking a case history to know if the patient lied. For this reason, he may termed only the "Father of Clinical Medicine". The Hippocratic Corpus The Hippocratic Corpus (Latin: Corpus Hippocratum) is a collection of around seventy early medical works from ancient Greece strongly associated with Hippocrates and his teachings. Of the volumes in the Corpus, none is proven to be of Hippocrates' hand itself, though some sources say otherwise. Content The Hippocratic Corpus contains textbooks, lectures, research, notes and even philosophical essays on various subjects in medicine, in no particular order. These works were written for different audiences, both specialists and laymen, and were sometimes written from opposing view points; significant contradictions can be found within works in the Corpus. There are a number of case-histories in the Hippocratic Corpus, 42 to be exact. Of these, 60% (25) ended in the patient's death. Nearly all of the diseases described in the Corpus are endemic diseases: colds, consumption, pneumonia, etc. Style The writing style of the Corpus has been remarked upon for centuries, being described by some as, "clear, precise, and simple". It is often praised for its objectivity and concisesness, yet some have criticised it as being "grave and austere". Francis Adams goes further and calls it sometimes “obscure”. It must be taken into account that the Corpus is very large, and was written by many authors. It makes sense that not all of it is of this “laconic” style... but most of it is. It was Hippocratic practice to write in this style. It is notable that the whole corpus is written in Ionic Greek, though the island of Kos was in a region that spoke Doric Greek. The use of Ionic instead of the native Doric dialect is analogous to the practice of Renaissance scientists, using Latin instead of the vernacular for their treatises. Printed editions The entire Hippocratic Corpus was first printed as a unit in 1525. This was in Latin and was edited by Fabius Calvus in Rome. The first complete Greek edition followed the next year in Venice. An English translation was first published about 300 years later. A significant edition was that of Émile Littré who spent twenty-two years (1839-1861) working diligently on the Hippocratic Corpus. This was scholarly, yet sometimes inaccurate and awkward. Another edition of note was that of Franz Z. Ermerins, published in Utrecht between 1859 and 1864. Beginning in 1967, an important modern edition by Jacques Jouanna and others began to appear (with Greek text, French translation, and commentary) in the Collection Budé. Other important bilingual annotated editions (with translation in German or French) continue to appear in the Corpus medicorum graecorum published by the Akademie-Verlag in Berlin. The Oath The most famous work in the Hippocratic corpus is the Hippocratic Oath, a landmark declaration of doctoral ethics historically taken at the beginning of a doctor's career. While the oath is rarely used in its original form, derivatives of it are taken today and it serves as a foundation for other, similar oaths and laws that define good medical practice and morals. Legacy Hippocrates was the first great physician, and for a long time, the last. He was the most important influence on medicine for over a thousand years, and after him there was a dearth of medical advancement. And yet, Hippocratic medicine is far removed from modern medicine. Today, the physician focuses on specific diagnosis and specialized treatment. So Hippocratic methods have seen some serious criticism in the past two millennia. M. S. Houdart in 1836 called Hippocratic treatment a "meditation upon death." He said the purpose of the doctor was to cure the patient, not simply predict how he will die. Direct contributions to medicine Hippocrates and his followers identified many diseases and medical conditions for the first time. He also began to categorize illnesses as acute, chronic, endemic and epidemic. Other medical terms that he introduced were, "exacerbation, relapse, resolution, crisis, paroxysm, peak, and convalescence." Hippocrates is in his description of the symptomology, physical findings, surgical treatment and prognosis of thoracic empyema, i.e. suppuration of the lining of the chest cavity. Much of what he said is very useful to students of pulmonary medicine and surgery today. Hippocrates was the first documented chest surgeon and his findings are still valid. He is also given credit for the first description of clubbing of the fingers, an important diagnostic sign in chronic supperative lung disease, lung cancer and cyanotic heart disease. For this reason, clubbing is sometimes termed "Hippocratic fingers". Hippocrates was also the first one to diagnose Hippocratic face, the symptoms of which are described in Prognosis. Shakespeare famously aludes to this description when writing of the death of Falstaff in Act II, Scene iii. of Henry V.. Image
Legends Some events are said to have taken place but are unlikely to have actually occurred because they are inconsistent internally or with other historical evidence. For example, Hippocrates was supposed to have aided in the healing of Athenians during the Plague of Athens by lighting great fires as "disinfectants". This account is not corroborated by any historians and is thus unlikely to have ever occurred. Another legend, this one negative, was that Hippocrates did his traveling only after he set fire to a healing temple in Greece. Soranus, the source of this story, names the temple as the one of Knidos. Tzetzes writes, however, that it was his own Temple of Cos that was burned, that he would maintain a monopoly of medical knowledge. This account is very much in conflict with There is a story of Hippocrates curing Perdiccas, a Macedonian king of "love sickness". While the story itself probably did not occur, Hippocrates likely attended Perdiccas' court. One more probable legend concerns how Hippocrates rejected a formal request to visit the court of Artaxerxes, the King of Persia. The validity of this is accepted by ancient sources, denied by some modern ones and is thus under contention. According to legend, Democritus was supposed to be mad because he laughed at everything, and so he was sent to Hippocrates to be cured. Hippocrates diagnosed him with merely a happy disposition. Democritus has since been called "the laughing philosopher". Genealogy With this legendary figure, comes a legendary genealogy, which traces Hippocrates’ heritage directly to Asclepius. It has also been said that in his mother's ancestry lay Hercules. The ahnentafel of Hippocrates II. is, according to John Tzetzes’s Chiliades: 1. Hippocrates II. “The Father of Medicine” 2. Heraclides 4. Hippocrates I. 8. Gnosidicus 16. Nebrus 32. Sostratus III. 64. Theodorus II. 128. Sostratus, II. 256. Thedorus 512. Cleomyttades 1024. Crisamis 2048. Dardanus 4096. Sostatus 8192. Hippolochus 16384. Podalirius 32768. Asclepius See also
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