Hippocrates

Hippocrates Biography

Hippocrates was born around 460 BC on the Greek island of Kos. He became a physician and teacher who enormously influenced medicine throughout the ancient and medieval world. He is regarded as the father of medicine.

Hippocrates founded a medical school on his home island of Kos around 400 BC. Here, he taught his views on medical theory and treatment.

Fig. 1 - Hippocrates of Kos, by Rubens

He was mentioned in works by other famous Greek philosophers, Aristotle and Plato. There are around 60 works that have his name, although it is not certain that he authored them all.

Equally, he is said to have created the Hippocratic Oath - however, it is unlikely that Hippocrates actually wrote the oath - it is more likely someone created the oath based on Hippocrates' teachings.

Hippocrates Teachings

Hippocrates is known for his contributions to medicine. In the ancient world, it was commonly believed that the gods caused illnesses. Hippocrates reasoned that all illnesses had a natural cause. His medical theory was based on observation and rational conclusions, not superstition.

Hippocrates Invention

One of the most important teachings of Hippocrates was his invention of humoral theory. His theory suggested that the body contained four humours that dictated someone's personality and controlled health. If the humours were out of balance, a person would become sick.

Hippocrates Theory

The following table explains the nature of the four humours.

According to this theory, physicians had to adjust these humours to rebalance them in case of illness.

Humoral theory was later expanded on by the Roman physician Galen, who helped humoral theory to develop and survive well into the medieval era.

Fig. 2 - A chart showing the four humours and what they were associated with

Hippocrates Medical Ethics

Another critical aspect of Hippocrates' teachings was his contribution to medical ethics - essentially, the rules that physicians need to follow.

Hippocrates noted that physicians should uphold the highest standards of morality and professionalism. A physician should be honourable and polite and should be extremely familiar with every disease and remedy so that they can offer the best advice to their patients. He also stated that physicians should always put the health of their patients first, offering help to anyone regardless of who they were and what they believed.

Hippocrates' work on medical ethics resulted in the Hippocratic Oath, which is still used today. It is a code that all medical professionals have to follow. It is very unlikely that Hippocrates himself actually wrote this code. Still, it is based on his thoughts about medical ethics.

The modern text is as follows:

Influence in the Medieval Era

Hippocrates' theories on medicine and health were well-respected and widely acknowledged in the medieval period, despite his work being over one thousand years old by this point.

The Church played a prominent role in the distribution of medical knowledge in this era since it controlled the printing and copying of books. They trusted Hippocrates' work and distributed the necessary resources to teach medical practitioners.

Fig. 3 - Two apothecaries preparing a herbal remedy

Belief in humoral theory led to the development of remedies and treatments centred around re-balancing the humours.

• Phlebotomy (Bleeding): This involved cutting or scratching the skin or using leeches to extract blood from the body. However, doctors often took this too far, and people would die from blood loss.
• Purging: This was done when doctors believed that a person had too much yellow bile in them. It was believed that food was used to create the humours, so a way of rebalancing them was to get the food out of your body and 'start again'. This would be done using an emetic, which would make someone vomit, or a clyster, which would make them go to the toilet.

A physician would observe the patient - looking at their body and examining bodily fluids to assess how and why they thought the patient's humours were imbalanced. From there, they would prescribe treatments like bleeding and purging to rebalance them.

Hippocrates and Public Health

The dominance of humoral theory also meant that individual medical knowledge and home remedies were also based on this theory. While physicians were available, many people turned to homemade remedies first when someone was ill.

Hippocrates' impact on public health in the Medieval Period cannot be overstated. His theories and methods were foundational for how people thought about the causes of disease and how they should be cured, forming a basis for medical theory that dominated Medieval Europe for 1,500 years.