The oath and law of hippocrates biography

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He believed that the proper influence of these conditions on the body leads to the correct mixture of bodily fluids, which he considered to be health.

Hippocrates' approach to examining patients is characterized by his tireless thirst for knowledge. This ensured the continuity of knowledge and the maintenance of established standards within the community of healers.

It is also necessary to observe the changes in diseases, how they occur and progress, as well as the deposits leading to death or destruction, and also sweat, chills, cooling of the body, cough, sneezing, hiccups, breaths, belching, silent or noisy flatulence, bleeding, hemorrhoids. This ancient document outlines the physician’s duties to patients, teachers, and the broader community.

He observes carefully and takes notes. It requires secrecy regarding “what I see or hear in the course of treatment or even outside of treatment regarding the lives of men, which on no account one must spread abroad.” This commitment covers all personal and medical information encountered by the physician and emphasizes discretion.

Outdated and Controversial Elements

Despite its foundational status, the original text contains several specific requirements and prohibitions that are no longer followed in modern medical practice.

Hippocrates divided the causes of diseases into two classes: general harmful influences from climate, soil, heredity, and personal conditions of life and work, as well as diet. In his youth, he traveled extensively to enhance his scientific knowledge, studying medicine with local doctors and consulting the votive tablets that were posted in the temples of Asclepius.

Legacy and Works

The history of Hippocrates' life is not well known, and the legends and stories related to his biography have a mythical character.

His extensive collection of seven volumes called "Epidemics" is a series of notes made by the physician at the bedside of the patient. During the examination, the physician takes into account not only the patient's current condition but also their past illnesses and the consequences they may have left behind. I will follow that system of regimen which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous.

Hippocrates' sons, son-in-law, and numerous disciples also became physicians.

The Asclepiads, also known as the School of Kos, maintained purely religious forms and customs in the 5th century BC, like any other cultural corporation of the time. He believed that diseases were not sent by gods but arose from various, entirely natural causes.

Hippocrates' great contribution lies in being the first to establish medicine on scientific foundations, moving it away from the dark empiricism and dispelling false philosophical theories that often contradicted reality and dominated over the experimental side of medicine.

Hippocrates initially received medical education from his father, the physician Heraclides, and other physicians on the island. However, this religious aspect of the corporation did not limit the search for truth, which remained strictly scientific.

Regardless of its author, the Oath served as an early, formal codification of professional standards for those entering the medical profession.

Core Ethical Principles of the Original Oath

The enduring appeal of the Oath stems from its clear articulation of several ethical duties that remain central to medical practice today.

A primary commitment involved the professional obligation to teach the “art” of medicine to the next generation of practitioners. The principle of non-maleficence is famously established through the promise, “I will use treatment to help the sick according to my ability and judgment, but never with a view to injury and wrongdoing.” This statement forms the foundation for the widely recognized directive to “do no harm.”

Furthermore, the Oath imposes strict requirements for maintaining patient privacy and professional boundaries.

This document provides a secular, modernized interpretation of the core ethical duties, addressing issues such as the respect for human life and the non-use of medical knowledge to violate human rights. The consequences of this broad approach are reflected in the treatment, which, in turn, requires the patient to participate fully in their recovery, engaging both their body and soul under the guidance of the physician.

By closely observing the course of diseases, Hippocrates attached significant importance to different periods of diseases, particularly febrile and acute ones, establishing specific days for crises and turning points in illnesses when, according to his teachings, the body attempts to rid itself of undigested humors.

In his other works, such as "On Joints" and "On Fractures," detailed descriptions of surgeries and surgical interventions are provided.