He based his medical practice on observations and on the study of the human body. He held the belief that illness had a physical and a rational explanation. He rejected the views of his time that considered illness to be caused by superstitions and by possession of evil spirits and disfavour of the gods. Hippocrates teachingHippocrates held the belief that the body must be treated as a whole and not just a series of parts.
He accurately described disease symptoms and was the first physician to accurately describe the symptoms of pneumonia, as well as epilepsy in children. He believed in the natural healing process of rest, a good diet, fresh air and cleanliness. These documents were eventually gathered into a collection known as the Hippocratic Corpus. While Hippocratesmay not have written all of them himself, the papers are a reflection of his philosophies.
Through Hippocrates' example, medical practice pointed in a new direction, one that would move toward a more rational and scientific view of medicine. Hippocrates is often credited with developing the theory of the four humors, or fluids.
Philosophers Aristotle and Galen also contributed to the concept. Centuries later, William Shakespeare incorporated the humors into his writings when describing human qualities. Each humor was associated with a particular element earth, water, air or fire , two "qualities" cold, hot, moist, dry , certain body organs and certain ages childhood, adolescence, maturity, old age. The interactions among the humors, qualities, organs and ages — as well as the influence of the seasons and planets — determined a person's physical and mental health, as well as their disposition or personality.
Galen used the term "temperament" and literally meant that health and personality were affected by temperature — cold, hot, dry or wet.
This notion is reflected in the idioms "catching a cold" or having a "dry sense of humor. Differences due to age, gender, emotions and disposition could be attributed to the interactions of the humors, according to the NIH exhibition.
Heat stimulated action; cold depressed it. Someone with a choleric disposition was courageous, but phlegm caused cowardice. Youth was hot and moist; age was cold and dry. According to the ancient theory, the key to good health was to keep the humors in balance; an excess or deficiency in one or more of the humors was associated with disease. Food was one of the most important ways to help balance the ratio of these humors. In fact, one of Hippocrates' most famous quotes is, "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.
Although these practices and the concept of the four humors may sound strange and unscientific today, these ideas represented the first step away from the predominantly supernatural view of sickness and a step toward a new idea that illness is related to the environment and what is going on inside the body.
Bull Hist Med , Tufts University, Einstein J Biol Med , New York, Oxford University Press, J Clin Ethics , N Engl J Med , Linacre Q , Lecky W: History of European morals. Citation from Compact Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed.
Oxford, Clarendon Press, American College of Physicians: The role of the physician and the medical profession in the prevention of international torture and in the treatment of its survivors. Ann Intern Med , JAMA , West J Med , J Clin Oncol , J Oncol Pract 10 4 :ee, Cancer 11 , Lancet Oncol , J Oncol Pract 10 1 , Stillman M, Tailor M: Dead man walking. Berwick D: The toxic politics of health care.
Rettig RA: The Industrialization of clinical research. Health Aff , Bodenheimer T: Uneasy alliance: Clinical investigators and the pharmaceutical industry. BMJ f, Disclaimer: This commentary represents the views of the authors and may not necessarily reflect the views of ASCO.
I swear by Apollo the physician, and Asclepius, and Hygieia and Panacea and all the gods and goddesses as my witnesses, that, according to my ability and judgement, I will keep this Oath and this contract:.
To hold him who taught me this art equally dear to me as my parents, to be a partner in life Toggle navigation. Hagop Kantarjian, MD. David P.
0コメント