Hippocrates known as the Father of Medicine epitomizes the Greek Medicine. His teachings in philosophy and medicine have influenced the practice of medicine through the ages.
He was born in 460 BC in the island of Cos. His father was Heraclides a physician, mother, Praxitela, daughter of Tizane. He had 2 sons - Thesallus and Draco and son in law Polybus. Polybus was his true successor. Hippocrates learnt medicine from his father and his grand father
He is known well for some of his views. He was the first to say that the disease was due to natural causes and not due to God's wrath. The focus was on patient care and prognosis and not diagnosis which was general. Another concept in the treatment of the disease was "crisis" the point at which the disease would abate or the patient would succumb to it. His therapeutic principles were humble and passive based on the nature's ability to cure.
He was known for his strict professionalism, discipline and rigorous practice He would always trim his fingernails and had a primitive operating room where he did splinting and minor surgery.
He contributed many things to Medicine. He is supposed to have written 79 books and 52 treatises - no body is sure how many of these were really written by him. He was the first to describe clubbing of fingers - sometimes called Hippocratic fingers. He described Hippocratic facies He gave very good descriptions of various diseases but did not name any syndromes. He gave the first description of Empyema. He devised a primitive speculum to study piles which must have been the first application of endoscopy He emphasized the importance of diet and exercise. He had the concepts of acute and chronic; endemic and epidemic; exacerbation, resolution, relapse and crisis.
The most famous contribution to medicine by him was the Hippocratic oath. which is a seminal document on ethics in medicine. It entails good medical practices and morals. It is controversial whether he wrote it at all!
Soranus of Ephisus, a Greek Gynaecologist of the 2 nd century was his first biographer. After him the famous physician was Galen who lived between 129 to 200 AD Thomas Sydenham, William Heberden, Charcot, William Osler followed his methods.
Hippocrates is also well known for some of his aphorisms - Gout never develops before puberty on men; before menopause in women and never seen in the eunuchs. - almost true even today. He probably described Behcet's disease and Crohn's disease without naming them He never spoke of a disease resembling rheumatoid arthritis and so the disease must have been more recent!
Coins bearing his name and his profile were unearthed from Cos. He is supposed to have died in Thessaly. A sculpted head was found in the cemetary of Ostia which bears a close resemblance to what is now accepted to be his appearance
It is indeed unbelievable that a sigle person has contributed so much to Medicine. No wonder he is liked, loved, adored and admired. He definitely qualifies to be called the "father of Medicine"
He was born in 460 BC in the island of Cos. His father was Heraclides a physician, mother, Praxitela, daughter of Tizane. He had 2 sons - Thesallus and Draco and son in law Polybus. Polybus was his true successor. Hippocrates learnt medicine from his father and his grand father
He is known well for some of his views. He was the first to say that the disease was due to natural causes and not due to God's wrath. The focus was on patient care and prognosis and not diagnosis which was general. Another concept in the treatment of the disease was "crisis" the point at which the disease would abate or the patient would succumb to it. His therapeutic principles were humble and passive based on the nature's ability to cure.
He was known for his strict professionalism, discipline and rigorous practice He would always trim his fingernails and had a primitive operating room where he did splinting and minor surgery.
He contributed many things to Medicine. He is supposed to have written 79 books and 52 treatises - no body is sure how many of these were really written by him. He was the first to describe clubbing of fingers - sometimes called Hippocratic fingers. He described Hippocratic facies He gave very good descriptions of various diseases but did not name any syndromes. He gave the first description of Empyema. He devised a primitive speculum to study piles which must have been the first application of endoscopy He emphasized the importance of diet and exercise. He had the concepts of acute and chronic; endemic and epidemic; exacerbation, resolution, relapse and crisis.
The most famous contribution to medicine by him was the Hippocratic oath. which is a seminal document on ethics in medicine. It entails good medical practices and morals. It is controversial whether he wrote it at all!
Soranus of Ephisus, a Greek Gynaecologist of the 2 nd century was his first biographer. After him the famous physician was Galen who lived between 129 to 200 AD Thomas Sydenham, William Heberden, Charcot, William Osler followed his methods.
Hippocrates is also well known for some of his aphorisms - Gout never develops before puberty on men; before menopause in women and never seen in the eunuchs. - almost true even today. He probably described Behcet's disease and Crohn's disease without naming them He never spoke of a disease resembling rheumatoid arthritis and so the disease must have been more recent!
Coins bearing his name and his profile were unearthed from Cos. He is supposed to have died in Thessaly. A sculpted head was found in the cemetary of Ostia which bears a close resemblance to what is now accepted to be his appearance
It is indeed unbelievable that a sigle person has contributed so much to Medicine. No wonder he is liked, loved, adored and admired. He definitely qualifies to be called the "father of Medicine"
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