Greek physician ( c. 460 – c. 370 BC) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hippocrates (c. 460 – c. 370 BC)[1] was a Greek doctor who is called the "father of medicine".[2][3][4] He was the first person to teach that people got sick for scientific reasons. Previously, people believed that disease was caused by angry gods.
Hippocrates of Kos | |
|---|---|
Ἱπποκράτης | |
Engraving by Peter Paul Rubens, 1638 | |
| Born | c. 460 BC |
| Died | c. 370 BC Larissa, Ancient Greece |
| Occupation | Physician |
| Era | Classical Greece |
| Title | The Father of Western Medicine |
Many of Hippocrates' writings are still important to doctors. For example, patient confidentiality, meaning that doctors can only discuss a patient with the patient themselves. Another of his ideas is to never knowingly lead a patient to suffering or death. These kinds of ideas are part of medical ethics.
The Hippocratic Oath is named after him. This is a set of rules which doctors promise to obey. We don't exactly know what the original was, but this is an example of a modern Hippocratic Oath: I do solemnly swear by all I hold most sacred:
The oldest version we have is AD 275, and that is just fragments.
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