Hippocrates – An overview | Facts About Hippocrates

Back in the day, people believed that diseases were caused by Gods, and there were many superstitions surrounding them. However, Hippocrates was the first to come up with the argument that diseases are caused by natural causes and not divine superstitions.

As per Hippocrates, a human body is made of four substances or humor and an imbalance between them affects the functioning of the human body and results in diseases; these four senses of humor must always be in perfect balance. 

Facts About Hippocrates

• Hippocrates was born in around 460 BC on the Greek island of Kos; his father was Heraclides, a physician, and his mother was Praxitela
• He is regarded as the “Father of Medicine”
• He acquired the knowledge of medicine from his grandfather and father and also believed that a thorough understanding of the nature of the body was required to diagnose disease and prescribe appropriate treatment
• Hippocrates stressed the importance of proper lighting, experienced personnel, patient positioning, and hygiene in the operating room
• He thought that taking notes was critical for any doctor or physician. The notes should be written in such a way that if another doctor examines the same patient, he will have a clear understanding of his medical condition
• His Hippocratic oath, which states that doctors should never harm their patients, is still taken by doctors today
• Hippocratic medicine aimed to be very gentle with patients. The treatment method followed was made sure to be very gentle, with the main goal of keeping the patient clean and sterile. He believed that healing from any injury or illness is a natural process that medicine only facilitates.

Hippocrates Theory

According to facts about Hippocrates, these four humour were based on the four elements of the human body, namely earth, fire, air, and water.

After extensive research and various theories by various authors, the characteristics with which this humour has been associated are as follows:

• Black Bile- Black bile was linked to long-term sadness or melancholy. Excess black bile was thought to make people more prone to depression or other forms of sadness
• Yellow Bile- Yellow bile was commonly associated with people who have a bad temper or are constantly irritable, which is why it represented fire. Excess yellow bile can be found in individuals that are always irritable and have a short temper
• Blood- Blood is represented as a byproduct of food digestion. A healthy body always has more blood. Similarly, a person with a healthy soul is believed to be always active, social, enthusiastic, and happy
• Phlegm- Phlegm, a colourless substance such as pus, mucus, or saliva, generally represents a person’s reserved nature. These people are very calm and cannot be easily made angry or sad

Hippocrates Contribution to Medicine

Hippocrates made a significant contribution to medicine. He gave us terms like “Hippocratic fingers” and “Hippocratic face,” which were simple but unfamiliar to most people.

1.”Hippocratic fingers” refers to finger clubbing caused by lung disease, cyanotic heart disease, or lung cancer. Only through detailed documentation by Hippocrates and his team were people able to link the symptoms to the disease in question.

2. “Hippocratic face” refers to a human’s face not long before death. According to Hippocrates, if a person exhibits the following symptoms without improvement, the doctor may conclude that the patient is near death.

• Sharp nose
• Sunken eyes
• Fallen temple
• Cold ears and distorted lobes
• Hard, stretched and dry skin of the face
• Pale or dusky skin colour

3. Hippocrates was the first doctor to categorise diseases as acute, chronic, endemic, or epidemic. He also coined the terms exacerbation, relapse, resolution, crisis, peak, and convalescence. 
4. Diabetes can be cured by changing one’s lifestyle, eating healthy, and exercising regularly. Hippocrates was the first physician to use these and is believed today too.

Hippocrates’ contribution to the field of medicine was not just limited to these; he also proved other theories that are somehow relevant today too.

The Hippocratic Oath

The Hippocratic Oath is one of the oldest binding documents that holds the code of conduct that doctors and professionals must follow. It was written in Iconic Greek and remains in the Hippocratic Corpus.

Many medical schools still include some form of the Hippocratic Oath in some form or another, which is taken by graduating students. Many people have modernised the oath over time, but the crux remains the same.

The modernised Hippocratic Oath mentions that:

• Doctors and physicians should not harm the patients
• They should not be hesitant to share their medical knowledge with their successors and juniors always
• They should never be ashamed to admit they don’t know anything and seek assistance from their juniors and colleagues
• They must always respect their patients’ privacy and ensure that what has been disclosed to them is not made public in any way
• Whenever possible, they should prioritise disease prevention over disease cure, as prevention is always preferable to cure.
• They should treat all of their patients as sick people, whose illness affects their families and not just as a fever chart or a cancerous growth.

Conclusion 

Hippocrates was known as the “Father of Medicine” for a reason, and most of his discoveries still hold today and are followed by doctors all over the world. His contributions revolutionised the practice of medicine, and the concepts are modernised over time to suit the needs.