Medicine

Medicine is all that either manipulative therapy or administered which aims to cure various diseases or give relief to the patient. Teniendo en cuenta la diversidad de enfoques y de tradiciones culturales y espirituales, surge la obligación de diferenciarlas en cuanto a su Contenido y Metodología. Given the diversity of approaches and cultural and spiritual traditions, it was required to differentiate in terms of content and methodology.

Hippocrates of Cos or Hippokrates of Kos (ca. 460 BC – ca. 370 BC) - Greek: Ἱπποκράτης; Hippokrátēs was an ancient Greek physician of the Age of Pericles (Classical Athens), 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 that it had traditionally been associated with (notably theurgy 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 are often commingled; thus very little is known about what Hippocrates actually thought, wrote, and did. There are also claims that point to Imhotep of ancient Egypt as history's first physician. Nevertheless, Hippocrates is commonly portrayed as the paragon of the ancient physician. In particular, he is 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 Oath, Corpus and other works.

Hippocrates is credited with being the first person to believe that diseases were caused naturally and not as a result 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 Humorism.

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.

Humorism

The Hippocratic school held that illness was the result of an imbalance in the body of the four humours, fluids which were naturally equal in proportion (pepsis). When the four humours, blood, black bile, yellow bile and phlegm, were not in balance (dyscrasia, meaning "bad mixture"), a person would become sick and remain that way until the balance was somehow restored. Hippocratic therapy was directed towards restoring this balance. For instance, utilizing citrus was thought to be beneficial when an overabundance of phlegm was suspected.

Crisis

An important concept in Hippocratic medicine was that of a crisis, a point in the progression of disease at which either the illness would begin triumph and the patient would succumb to death, or the opposite and natural processes would make the patient recover. After a crisis, a relapse might follow, and then another deciding crisis. By this doctrine, crises occur on critical days, which were supposed to be a fixed time after the contraction of a disease. If a crisis usually occurs on a day far from a critical day, a relapse may be expected. Galen believed that this idea originated with Hippocrates, though it is possible that it predated him.

Hippocratic therapy

Another important precept of Hippocratic doctrine was based on "the healing power of nature" ("vis medicatrix naturae" in Latin). According to this doctrine, the body contains within itself the power to re-balance the four humours and heal itself (physis). Hippocratic therapy focused on simply easing this natural process. To this end, Hippocrates believed "rest and immobilization [were] of capital importance". He was reluctant to administer drugs and engage in specialized treatment that could be wrong; generalized therapy followed a generalized diagnosis.

Methods of treatment

Hippocratic medicine was humble and passive. Whenever possible it was very kind to the patient: sterile and gentle. For example, only clean water or wine were ever used on wounds, though "dry" treatment was preferable. Soothing balms, too, were often employed. There were, however, times when potent drugs were used.

Hippocratic method 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 in its prognosis. At this time, medicinal therapy was quite immature, and often the best that physicians could do was to evaluate an illness and induce the likely progression of it based upon data collected in detailed case histories.

HIPPOCRATIC OATH

The Hippocratic Oath is an oath historically taken by doctors swearing to practice medicine ethically. It is widely believed to have been written by Hippocrates, often regarded as the father of western medicine, in Ionic Greek (late 5th century BCE), or by one of his students, and is usually included in the Hippocratic Corpus. Classical scholar Ludwig Edelstein proposed that the oath was written by Pythagoreans, a theory that has been questioned due to the lack of evidence for a school of Pythagorean medicine. Although mostly of historic and traditional value, the oath is considered a rite of passage for practitioners of medicine in some countries, although nowadays the modernized version of the text varies among the countries.

The Hippocratic Oath (orkos) is one of the most widely known of Greek medical texts. It requires a new physician to swear upon a number of healing gods that he will uphold a number of professional ethical standards.

Little is known about who wrote it or first used it, but it appears to be more strongly influenced by followers of Pythagoras than Hippocrates and is often estimated to have been written in the 4th century B.C.E

Over the centuries, it has been rewritten often in order to suit the values of different cultures influenced by Greek medicine. Contrary to popular belief, the Hippocratic Oath is not required by most modern medical schools.

Hippocratic oath

'I swear by Apollo the physician, by Aesculapius, Hygeia and Panacea, and I take to witness all the gods, and all the goddesses, to keep according to my ability and judgement the following Oath:

To consider dear to as my parents him who taught me this art; to live in common with him and if necessary to share my goods with him; to look upon his children as my own brothers, to teach them this art if they so desire without fee or written promise; to impart to my sons and the sons of the master who taught me and the disciples who have enrolled themselves and have agreed to the rules of the profession, but to these alone, the precepts and instructions. I will prescribe regimen for the good of my patients according to my ability and judgment and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous. I will give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked nor give advise which may cause his death. Nor will I give a woman a pessary to procure abortion. I will preserve the purity of my life and practice my art. I will not cut for stone, even for patients in whom the disease is manifest, but will leave this operation to be done by practitioners of this art. Into whatever house where I come, I will enter only for the benefit of the sick, keeping myself far from all intentional mischief and corruption, and especially from the pleasures of love with women or with men, be they free or slaves. All that come to my knowledge in the exercise of my profession or outside of my practice or in daily commerce with men, which ought not to be spoken abroad, I will keep secret and not divulge. If I keep this oath unviolated may I enjoy my life and practice my art, respected by all men and in all times, but should I trespass this oath, may the reverse be my lot'