Hippocrates

Hippocrates (c. 460–c. 370 BC) was a Greek physician from the island of Kos, traditionally honored as “the Father of Medicine.” Few certain details of his life survive, but ancient sources describe him as a teacher at the medical school of Kos who traveled through Greece practicing medicine. His lasting contribution was the conviction that illness has natural causes that can be understood through careful observation, rather than supernatural ones. Physicians in his tradition recorded symptoms, followed the course of disease and emphasized diet, rest, cleanliness and prognosis. The Hippocratic Corpus, a collection of some sixty medical writings by him and his followers, shaped Western medicine for centuries. The Hippocratic Oath, traditionally attributed to him, binds physicians to act for the benefit of the sick, keep confidences and avoid doing harm. It remains a model of medical ethics, and modern versions are still affirmed by medical graduates.