Hippocrates facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hippocrates of Kos
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A conventionalized image in a Roman "portrait" bust (19th-century engraving)
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| Born | c. 460 BC |
| Died | c. 370 BC (aged approximately 90) Larissa, Ancient Greece
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| Occupation | Physician |
| Era | Classical Greece |
Hippocrates of Kos (Greek: Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, translit. Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; c. 460 – c. 370 BC), also known as Hippocrates II, was a famous Greek doctor. Many people consider him one of the most important people in the history of medicine. He is often called the "Father of Medicine".
Hippocrates was the first person to write that people got sick for scientific reasons. Before him, many people believed that disease was caused by angry gods.
Hippocrates wrote many important ideas about treating sick people. These ideas are still studied by doctors today. For example, he wrote about "patient confidentiality." This means doctors should not tell anyone else what their patients tell them. Another idea is that doctors should never do anything to harm a patient. These ideas are part of medical ethics. Hippocrates is also known for the Hippocratic Oath, which doctors still use today.
Contents
Biography of Hippocrates
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Historians agree that Hippocrates was born around 460 BC. He was born on the Greek island of Kos. Other stories about his life might not be true.
Hippocrates' father, Heraclides, was also a doctor. His mother was Praxitela. Hippocrates had two sons, Thessalus and Draco. His son-in-law, Polybus, was also his student. Both Thessalus and Draco had sons named Hippocrates.
Hippocrates learned medicine from his father and grandfather (Hippocrates I). He likely trained at the asklepieion of Kos. He also took lessons from the Thracian doctor Herodicus of Selymbria. Hippocrates taught and practiced medicine his whole life. He traveled to places like Thessaly, Thrace, and the Sea of Marmara.
There are different stories about how he died. He probably died in Larissa. He was likely around 83, 85, or 90 years old. Some say he lived to be over 100.
Hippocrates' Medical Ideas
The medical ideas from Hippocrates' time changed ancient Greek medicine.
Hippocrates is known as the first person to believe that diseases happened naturally. He thought they were not caused by magic or gods. He separated medicine from religion. He believed that sickness was not a punishment from the gods. Instead, he thought it came from things like the environment, what people ate, and their daily habits.
Hippocrates taught doctors to focus on how a sickness would progress (the prognosis). He also taught them to carefully watch their patients and provide good care.
Understanding a Crisis
An important idea in Hippocratic medicine was the "crisis." This was a point when a patient would either get much sicker or start to get better. Hippocrates believed these crises happened on "critical days." These days were supposed to be a set time after the illness began. If a crisis happened on a day far from a "critical day," the patient might get sick again.
How Diseases Were Treated
Hippocrates believed in "the healing power of nature." He was sure that the body could heal itself. Hippocratic treatment focused on helping this natural process. Generally, Hippocratic medicine was very gentle. Keeping the patient clean was very important. Soothing balms were sometimes used.
Hippocrates did not like using too much medicine. He worried it might be chosen wrongly. Some treatments he suggested were fasting and drinking a mix of honey and vinegar. Hippocrates once said, "to eat when you are sick, is to feed your sickness." This gentle approach worked well for simple problems like broken bones. However, drugs were used sometimes.
In Hippocrates' time, people thought fever was a disease itself. Hippocrates treated patients with fever by having them fast. He believed that "starving" the fever would stop the disease. He might have started the idea, "Feed a cold, starve a fever."
Professionalism in Medicine
Hippocrates thought it was very important for doctors to be disciplined and professional. His book On the Physician suggests that doctors should always be neat, honest, calm, understanding, and serious. Hippocratic doctors paid close attention to every part of their work. They followed specific rules for "lighting, helpers, tools, how the patient was positioned, and how to bandage and splint" in the ancient operating room. They even kept their fingernails a certain length.
The Hippocratic School said that doctors should write down what they found and how they treated patients. They had to write clearly and factually. This way, other doctors could use these records later. Hippocrates carefully wrote down many symptoms. These included skin color, pulse, fever, pains, movement, and body waste. He is said to have checked a patient's pulse to see if they were lying. Hippocrates also looked at a patient's family history and environment. He is credited with starting the idea of careful observation in medicine.
Hippocrates' Contributions to Medicine
Hippocrates and his followers were the first to describe many diseases and health problems. He is known for the first description of clubbing of the fingers. This is an important sign in long-term lung disease, lung cancer, and certain heart problems. Because of this, clubbed fingers are sometimes called "Hippocratic fingers." Hippocrates was also the first doctor to describe Hippocratic face in his book Prognosis.
Hippocrates started to group illnesses as acute (sudden and short), chronic (long-lasting), endemic (common in a certain area), and epidemic (spreading quickly). He also used terms like "exacerbation" (getting worse), relapse (getting sick again), "resolution" (getting better), "crisis," paroxysm (sudden attack), "peak," and convalescence (recovery). His teachings are still important for students of lung medicine and surgery today. Hippocrates was the first recorded chest surgeon. His ideas and methods, even if simple, like using lead pipes to drain chest infections, are still useful.
Hippocrates often used changes in diet and exercise to treat diseases like diabetes. Today, this is called lifestyle medicine.
The Hippocratic Corpus
The Hippocratic Corpus (Latin: Corpus Hippocraticum) is a collection of about seventy medical books. These books were gathered in Alexandrian Greece. They are written in Ionic Greek. Because the books cover many different topics, have different writing styles, and were written at different times, one person could not have written them all. Hippocrates might have written only a few of them. His students and followers probably wrote most of the books.
The Hippocratic Corpus includes textbooks, lectures, research, notes, and essays about different medical subjects. These works were written for different groups of people, both medical experts and regular people.
The Hippocratic Oath
The Hippocratic Oath is a special promise that doctors make. When they say this oath, they promise to follow the rules and ideas in it.
Most medical schools today use a newer version of the oath. This means some things have been changed. But the main ideas are still the same. Here is an example of a modern Hippocratic Oath.
This version is used today at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
I do solemnly swear by all I hold most sacred:
- that I will be loyal to the profession of medicine and fair to its members
- that I will live my life and practice my art with goodness and honor
- that into whatever home I shall enter it shall be for the good of the sick and the well with all my power. I will stay away from wrong and from corruption and from tempting others to bad behavior
- that I will use my art only for the benefit of my patients. I will help ease suffering, prevent disease, and promote health. I will not give any drug or do any act for a bad purpose
- that when treating the sick, I will think their well-being is more important than how much they can pay me
- that what I may see or hear during treatment, or even outside of treatment, about people's lives that should not be spoken, I will keep completely secret
- that I will promise to keep learning about the art and science of medicine my whole life
- these things I do promise. If I am true to this oath, may happiness and a good reputation always be mine. But if I break this oath, may the opposite happen to me.
Interesting Facts About Hippocrates
- Two popular sayings are often wrongly said to be from Hippocrates: "Let food be your medicine, and medicine be your food" and "Walking is man's best medicine." No one knows exactly where these sayings came from.
- The Hippocratic Oath, which summarizes medical ethics, was said to be written by Hippocrates long ago. But now, people think he probably did not write it himself.
- Hippocrates is believed to be a descendant of Heracles, a hero in Greek myths.
- Hippocrates is often shown with a large beard, like many doctors of his time.
- We actually know very little about what Hippocrates truly thought, wrote, and did.
- A crater on the Moon has been named Hippocrates.
- The Hippocratic Museum, on the Greek island of Kos, is a museum dedicated to him.
- The Hippocrates Project is a program at the New York University Medical Center. It aims to improve education using technology.
Things Named After Hippocrates
Some medical signs and tools are named after Hippocrates. This is because he is believed to be the first person to describe them:
- Hippocratic face;
- Hippocratic fingers; also called clubbing, which is a change in the shape of fingers and fingernails;
- Hippocratic bench (a tool that uses pulling to help set broken bones);
- Hippocratic cap-shaped bandage;
- The Hippocratic Smile, which is a lasting spasm of the face muscles;
- The most severe type of hair loss and baldness is called the Hippocratic form.
See also
In Spanish: Hipócrates para niños
