text: hippocrates hippocrates of kos ( / / ; greek : ; ; c . 460 – c . 370 bc ) , also known as hippocrates ii , was a greek physician of the age of pericles ( classical greece ) , and is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine . he is referred to as the " father of western medicine " in recognition of his lasting contributions to the field as the founder of the hippocratic school of medicine . this intellectual school revolutionized medicine in ancient greece , establishing it as a discipline distinct from other fields with which it had traditionally been associated ( and philosophy ) , thus establishing medicine as a profession . however , the achievements of the writers of the corpus , the practitioners of hippocratic medicine , and the actions of hippocrates himself were often commingled ; thus very little is known about what hippocrates actually thought , wrote , and did . hippocrates is commonly portrayed as the paragon of the ancient physician , and credited with coining the hippocratic oath , still relevant and in use today . he is also credited with greatly advancing the systematic study of clinical medicine , summing up the medical knowledge of previous schools , and prescribing practices for physicians through the hippocratic corpus and other works . biography historians agree that hippocrates was born around the year 460 bc on the greek island of kos ; other biographical information , however , is likely to be untrue . soranus of ephesus , a 2nd - century greek gynecologist , was hippocrates ' first biographer and is the source of most personal information about him . later biographies are in the suda of the 10th century ad , and in the works of john tzetzes , which date from the 12th century ad . hippocrates is mentioned in passing in the writings of two contemporaries : plato , in " protagoras " and " phaedrus " , and , aristotle 's " politics " , which date from the 4th century bc . soranus wrote that hippocrates ' father was heraclides , a physician , and his mother was , daughter of . the two sons of hippocrates , thessalus and draco , and his son - in - law , , were his students . according to galen , a later physician , was hippocrates ' true successor , while thessalus and draco each had a son named hippocrates ( hippocrates iii and iv ) . soranus said that hippocrates learned medicine from his father and grandfather ( hippocrates i ) , and studied other subjects with democritus and gorgias . hippocrates was probably trained at the of kos , and took lessons from the thracian physician of selymbria . plato mentions hippocrates in two of his dialogues : in protagoras , plato describes hippocrates as " hippocrates of kos , the " ; while in phaedrus , plato suggests that " hippocrates the " thought that a complete knowledge of the nature of the body was necessary for medicine . hippocrates taught and practiced medicine throughout his life , traveling at least as far as thessaly , thrace , and the sea of marmara . several different accounts of his death exist . he died , probably in larissa , at the age of 83 , 85 or 90 , though some say he lived to be well over 100 . hippocratic theory hippocrates is credited with being the first person to believe that diseases were caused naturally , not because of superstition and gods . hippocrates was credited by the disciples of pythagoras of allying philosophy and medicine . he separated the discipline of medicine from religion , believing and arguing that disease was not a punishment inflicted by the gods but rather the product of environmental factors , diet , and living habits . indeed there is not a single mention of a mystical illness in the entirety of the hippocratic corpus . however , hippocrates did work with many convictions that were based on what is now known to be incorrect anatomy and physiology , such as . ancient greek schools of medicine were split ( into the knidian and koan ) on how to deal with disease . the knidian school of medicine focused on diagnosis . medicine at the time of hippocrates knew almost nothing of human anatomy and physiology because of the greek taboo forbidding the dissection of humans . the knidian school consequently failed to distinguish when one disease caused many possible series of symptoms . the hippocratic school or koan school achieved greater success by applying general diagnoses and passive treatments . its focus was on patient care and prognosis , not diagnosis . it could effectively treat diseases and allowed for a great development in clinical practice . hippocratic medicine and its philosophy are far removed from that of modern medicine . now , the physician focuses on specific diagnosis and specialized treatment , both of which were espoused by the knidian school . this shift in medical thought since hippocrates ' day has caused serious criticism over the past two millennia , with the passivity of hippocratic treatment being the subject of particularly strong denunciations ; for example , the french doctor m. s. called the hippocratic treatment a " meditation upon death " . crisis another important concept in hippocratic medicine was that of a crisis , a point in the progression of disease at which either the illness would begin to triumph and the patient would succumb to death , or the opposite would occur and natural processes would make the patient recover . after a crisis , a relapse might follow , and then another deciding crisis . according to this doctrine , crises tend to occur on critical days , which were supposed to be a fixed time after the contraction of a disease . if a crisis occurred on a day far from a critical day , a relapse might be expected . galen believed that this idea originated with hippocrates , though it is possible that it predated him . hippocratic medicine was humble and passive . the therapeutic approach was based on " the healing power of nature " ( " vis naturae " in latin ) . according to this doctrine , the body contains within itself the power to re - balance the four humours and heal itself ( ) . hippocratic therapy focused on simply easing this natural process . to this end , hippocrates believed " rest and immobilization [ were ] of capital importance . " in general , the hippocratic medicine was very kind to the patient ; treatment was gentle , and emphasized keeping the patient clean and sterile . for example , only clean water or wine were ever used on wounds , though " dry " treatment was preferable . were sometimes employed . hippocrates was reluctant to administer drugs and engage in specialized treatment that might prove to be wrongly chosen ; generalized therapy followed a generalized diagnosis . generalized treatments he prescribed include fasting and the consumption of apple cider vinegar . hippocrates once said that " to eat when you are sick , is to feed your sickness . " however , potent drugs were used on certain occasions . this passive approach was very successful in treating relatively simple ailments such as broken bones which required traction to stretch the skeletal system and relieve pressure on the injured area . the hippocratic bench and other devices were used to this end . one of the strengths of hippocratic medicine was its emphasis on prognosis . at hippocrates ' time , medicinal therapy was quite immature , and often the best thing that physicians could do was to evaluate an illness and predict its likely progression based upon data collected in detailed case histories . professionalism hippocratic medicine was notable for its strict professionalism , discipline , and rigorous practice . the hippocratic work on the physician recommends that physicians always be well - , honest , calm , understanding , and serious . the hippocratic physician paid careful attention to all aspects of his practice : he followed detailed specifications for , " lighting , personnel , instruments , positioning of the patient , and techniques of bandaging and " in the ancient operating room . he even kept his fingernails to a precise length . the hippocratic school gave importance to the clinical doctrines of observation and documentation . these doctrines dictate that physicians record their findings and their medicinal methods in a very clear and objective manner , so that these records may be passed down and employed by other physicians . hippocrates made careful , regular note of many symptoms including complexion , pulse , fever , pains , movement , and excretions . he is said to have measured a patient 's pulse when taking a case history to discover whether the patient was lying . hippocrates extended clinical observations into family history and environment . " to him medicine owes the art of clinical inspection and observation . " for this reason , he may more properly be termed as the " father of medicine " . direct contributions to medicine hippocrates and his followers were first to describe many diseases and medical conditions . he is given credit for the first description of clubbing of the fingers , an important diagnostic sign in chronic lung disease , lung cancer and heart disease . for this reason , clubbed fingers are sometimes referred to as " hippocratic fingers " . hippocrates was also the first physician to describe hippocratic face in prognosis . shakespeare famously alludes to this description when writing of falstaff 's death in act ii , scene of henry v. hippocrates began to categorize illnesses as acute , chronic , endemic and epidemic , and use terms such as , " exacerbation , relapse , resolution , crisis , paroxysm , peak , and convalescence . " another of hippocrates ' major contributions may be found in his descriptions of the symptomatology , physical findings , surgical treatment and prognosis of thoracic empyema , i.e. suppuration of the lining of the chest cavity . his teachings remain relevant to present - day students of pulmonary medicine and surgery . hippocrates was the first documented chest surgeon and his findings and techniques , while crude , such as the use of lead pipes to drain chest wall abscess , are still valid . the hippocratic school of medicine described well the ailments of the human rectum and the treatment thereof , despite the school 's poor theory of medicine . hemorrhoids , for instance , though believed to be caused by an excess of bile and phlegm , were treated by hippocratic physicians in relatively advanced ways . and excision are described in the hippocratic corpus , in addition to the preferred methods : ligating the hemorrhoids and drying them with a hot iron . other treatments such as applying various salves are suggested as well . today , " treatment [ for hemorrhoids ] still includes burning , strangling , and excising . " also , some of the fundamental concepts of outlined in the corpus are still in use . for example , the uses of the rectal speculum , a common medical device , are discussed in the hippocratic corpus . this constitutes the earliest recorded reference to endoscopy . hippocrates often used lifestyle modifications such as diet and exercise to treat diseases such as diabetes , what is today called lifestyle medicine . he is often quoted with " let food be your medicine , and medicine be your food " and " walking is man 's best medicine " , however the quote " let food be your medicine " is an apparent misquotation and its exact origin remains unknown . hippocratic corpus the hippocratic corpus ( latin : corpus ) is a collection of around seventy early medical works from alexandrian greece . it is written in ionic greek . the question of whether hippocrates himself was the author of the corpus has not been conclusively answered , but the volumes were probably produced by his students and followers . because of the variety of subjects , writing styles and apparent date of construction , scholars believe hippocratic corpus could not have been written by one person ( numbers the authors at nineteen ) . the corpus was attributed to hippocrates in antiquity , and its teaching generally followed his principles ; thus it came to be known by his name . it might be the remains of a library of kos , or a collection compiled in the 3rd century bc in alexandria . the hippocratic corpus contains textbooks , lectures , research , notes and philosophical essays on various subjects in medicine , in no particular order . these works were written for different audiences , both specialists and laymen , and were sometimes written from opposing viewpoints ; significant contradictions can be found between works in the corpus . notable among the treatises of the corpus are the hippocratic oath ; the book of ; on in acute diseases ; aphorisms ; on airs , waters and places ; instruments of reduction ; on the sacred disease ; etc . hippocratic oath the hippocratic oath , a seminal document on the ethics of medical practice , was attributed to hippocrates in antiquity although new information shows it may have been written after his death . this is probably the most famous document of the hippocratic corpus . recently the authenticity of the document 's author has come under scrutiny . while the oath is rarely used in its original form today , it serves as a foundation for other , similar oaths and laws that define good medical practice and morals . such derivatives are regularly taken today by medical graduates about to enter medical practice . legend of hippocrates ' daughter the travels of sir john mandeville reports ( incorrectly ) that hippocrates was the ruler of the islands of " kos and lango " [ sic ] , and recounts a legend about hippocrates ' daughter . she was transformed into a hundred - foot long dragon by the goddess diana , and is the " lady of the manor " of an old castle . she emerges three times a year , and will be turned back into a woman if a knight kisses her , making the knight into her consort and ruler of the islands . various knights try , but flee when they see the hideous dragon ; they die soon thereafter . this is a version of the legend of melusine . legacy hippocrates is widely considered to be the " father of medicine " . his contributions revolutionized the practice of medicine ; but after his death the advancement stalled . so revered was hippocrates that his teachings were largely taken as too great to be improved upon and no significant advancements of his methods were made for a long time . the centuries after hippocrates ' death were marked as much by retrograde movement as by further advancement . for instance , " after the hippocratic period , the practice of taking clinical case - histories died out , " according to fielding garrison . after hippocrates , the next significant physician was galen , a greek who lived from ad 129 to ad 200 . galen perpetuated hippocratic medicine , moving both forward and backward . in the middle ages , the islamic world adopted hippocratic methods and developed new medical technologies . after the european renaissance , hippocratic methods were revived in western europe and even further expanded in the 19th century . notable among those who employed hippocrates ' rigorous clinical techniques were thomas sydenham , william heberden , jean - martin charcot and william osler . henri , a french physician , said that these revivals make up " the whole history of internal medicine . " the most severe form of hair loss and baldness is called the hippocratic form . image according to aristotle 's testimony , hippocrates was known as " the great hippocrates " . concerning his disposition , hippocrates was first portrayed as a " kind , dignified , old country doctor " and later as " stern and forbidding " . he is certainly considered wise , of very great intellect and especially as very practical . francis adams describes him as " strictly the physician of experience and common sense . " his image as the wise , old doctor is reinforced by busts of him , which wear large beards on a wrinkled face . many physicians of the time wore their hair in the style of jove and asklepius . accordingly , the busts of hippocrates that have been found could be only altered versions of portraits of these deities . hippocrates and the beliefs that he embodied are considered medical ideals . fielding garrison , an authority on medical history , stated , " he is , above all , the exemplar of that flexible , critical , well - poised attitude of mind , ever on the lookout for sources of error , which is the very essence of the scientific spirit . " " his figure ... stands for all time as that of the ideal physician , " according to a short history of medicine , inspiring the medical profession since his death . genealogy hippocrates ' legendary genealogy traces his paternal heritage directly to asklepius and his maternal ancestry to heracles . according to tzetzes 's , the of hippocrates ii is : 1 . hippocrates ii . " the father of medicine " 2 . heraclides 4 . hippocrates i. 8 . 16 . 32 . sostratus iii . 64 . theodorus ii . 128 . sostratus , ii . 256 . 512 . 1024 . 2048 . dardanus 4096 . sostratus . . . asklepius namesakes some clinical symptoms and signs have been named after hippocrates as he is believed to be the first person to describe those . hippocratic face is the change produced in the countenance by death , or long sickness , excessive evacuations , excessive hunger , and the like . clubbing , a deformity of the fingers and fingernails , is also known as hippocratic fingers . hippocratic is the internal splashing noise of or . hippocratic bench ( a device which uses tension to aid in setting bones ) and hippocratic cap - shaped bandage are two devices named after hippocrates . hippocratic corpus and hippocratic oath are also his namesakes . the drink hypocras is also believed to be invented by hippocrates . , a sustained of the face muscles may also be termed the hippocratic smile . in the modern age , a lunar crater has been named hippocrates . the hippocratic museum , a museum on the greek island of kos is dedicated to him . the hippocrates project is a program of the new york university medical center to enhance education through use of technology . project hippocrates ( an acronym of " computing for robot - surgery " ) is an effort of the carnegie mellon school of computer science and shadyside medical center , " to develop advanced planning , simulation , and execution technologies for the next generation of computer - assisted surgical robots . " both the canadian hippocratic registry and american hippocratic registry are organizations of physicians who uphold the principles of the original hippocratic oath as inviolable through changing social times .