At the end of their undergraduate studies, medical graduates must take an oath of ethics, the well-known “Hippocratic Oath”. This name is a tribute to the author to whom the original text is attributed, which is over two thousand years old, a Greek physician named Hippocrates who received the title of “Father of Medicine”. However, it is possible that the oath was written by one of his students.
And who is this man and what was his historical relevance, after all? We can already say that no one would be called the “father” of any area without having contributed fundamentally to its development, right?
So, learn the story behind the famous oath and the doctor who wrote it.
Who was Hippocrates?
Born in Ancient Greece around 460 BC, Hippocrates of Kos was a revolutionary, as at that time diseases were related to the will of the gods.
Going against everything that was thought at the time, the Greek taught in his school that health problems were related to natural causes. This was able to make the practice of Medicine something more rational and well-founded.
To this day, some of this great man’s writings remain alive in the collection of 60 books called “Corpus Hippocreticum”, which contains several ancient teachings on medicine that were probably written by various authors of the time.
Hippocrates’ Teachings: The ‘Four Humors’
Among Hippocrates’ most famous teachings is the theory of the “four humors.” According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), each humor was related to the body’s organs, qualities (such as cold and hot), ages, and even the elements of nature.
The moods were:
- Yellow bile: related to the qualities of hot and dry, summer, fire, the gallbladder and childhood;
- Blood: linked to the qualities of warm and humid, spring, the heart, air and adolescence;
- Black bile: qualities of cold and dryness, winter, earth element, old age and spleen;
- Phlegm, cold and damp: related to the brain, water and maturity.
The balance between humors would define a state of complete health in individuals. These ideas represent an innovation in thinking, bringing a bit of the logic of the time to issues that were not previously addressed in this way.
Hippocratic Oath
Today, there are several adaptations of the text of ethical rules – which we do not even know if Hippocrates actually wrote. Many doctors still swear by the scriptures, although some of them may consider the oath merely as a rite of passage, since many of the words contained therein do not apply to today’s reality.
The lack of application is due to different factors, political, religious, among others. The oath mentions Greek gods that are no longer part of the prevailing religion and beliefs. In addition, some of the rules that are mentioned seem strange and impractical.
However, the ethics and commitment to patients mentioned in the oath continue to be applicable today and make sense for future doctors.
