Ancient Greece advanced more than any other ancient civilization. It advanced drastically in drama, philosophy, historical writing, and art and medicine. The advancements undertaken in the field of medicine by the early greek laid the basis for western medicine in three important ways. These include the first pioneers of western medicine, by establishing medical schools, the treatments created by the early Greeks and the creation of the Hippocratic Oath.
The Pioneers of Ancient Greek Medicine
The most notable pioneer of Ancient Greek medicine was probably Hippocrates. He is credited as the father of modern medicine and as the creator of the Hippocratic oath, which even doctors today must swear by to keep their license. His most important accomplishment, however, was changing medicine from spiritually-based to a system based on logic and observation. He believed in keeping the body in balance with nutrition and beneficial herbs and drugs. Doctors in Ancient Greece trained in the method of Hippocrates’ science by using observations to care for patients, applying herbs and drugs, and performing surgery. (GREEK MEDICINE.Net, David K. Osbourn) As Hippocratic medicine grew more popular in the Mediterranean it became the more acceptable than religious, mystical treatments. The Roman Empire eventually adopted the Hippocratic medicine after the conquering of Ancient Greece, therefore spreading it all over the world.
Galen was a very interesting man who paved the way
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 supportive lung disease, lung cancer and cyanotic heart disease. Herophilus of Chalcedon, working at the medical school of Alexandria placed intelligence in the brain, and connected the nervous system to motion and sensation. Herophilus also distinguished between veins and arteries, noting that the latter pulse while the former do not. He and his
We find that the “oldest written sources of western medicine are The Hippocratic writings from the 5th and 4th centuries BC; which covers all aspects of medicine at that time and contain numerous medical terms.”(Wulff) This was the beginning of the Greek era of the language of medicine, which lasted even after the Roman
The Greeks made many influences to their medical practices as well as ours today. Hippocrates was one of the many doctors at the time and he made many new discoveries in medicines which really helped people live longer and made his procedures a lot easier. He was a very trustworthy doctor. He made an oath stating that he wouldn't do anything to put his patients in harm by giving them bad medicines. Instead, he swore to do everything possible to cures patients and help make them feel better. This was known as the Hippocrates Oath (Doc 4). Even to this day, doctors must swear to not do anything that can cause harm to their patients. It's part of their training while in medical school. The only time a doctor can "harm" his or her patients is when the patient signs a
Today in America our medical system is similar. Doctors so whatever they can to help and patient and would never try to harm them. Another contribution to science was mathematics. A great contribution to mathematics can be seen in document five. Euclid made the discovery that vertical angles are equal. In America, this, along with many other mathematic discoveries is used every day in middle school and high school classes. Lastly, the Athenians were very philosophical. Thry questioned their own ideas and the ideas of others. This has been passed on to American society today. Scientists are constantly questioning their own theories and trying to find new answers. As you can see, Athenian science had a huge influence on western civilization.
Medieval medicine was rooted in Ancient Greek practices. In 65 A.D., a Greek writer, Discorides, wrote a book, Material Medica. The book is about medical use of over five-hundred different plants. The book is translated into Hebrew and Arabic. Doctors in the Early Modern Era knew very little, and they used plants as the most important care and/or treatment. Due to unsanitary places and tools, many different diseases spread around Europe. Life was challenging during the Early Modern Era because of many diseases(Alchin). During the 1500s- 1600s, diseases overtook many people because doctors knew little, medicine was unknown, and there were many causes.
FAQs About Medieval Medicine What was the most prominent disease back then? A: In Medieval Europe there is a diseases that stick out among the rest. The one that took a huge toll on Medieval Europe is the Plague also known as the, “Black Death.”
Ancient Greek made many advances during their time in many subjects still used today. The ancient Greeks advances in these subjects, influenced and contributed to the Western civilization. The Western civilization’s culture and outlook on life was shaped by ancient Greek. Many things the ancient Greeks created were the basis for what we use today, including, architecture, art, dramas, math, science, and philosophy.
The Golden Age of Athens began around 460 BC and ended around 430 BC. It was the time of great achievements. This was flourishing, aton of our society can be traced back to the ancient greeks,. They made long lasting contributions is many places. Medicine, Government , and Philosophy were very important achievement that are used in society today.
The Nile river is known almost universally by historians as the cradle of medicine because it passes through the great region of Egypt. Egypt greatly contributed to the western civilization. Their knowledge was far superior to any
It was Hippocrates’ teachings and revolutionary techniques that were the driving force behind the shift from irrational to rational medicine in ancient Greece.
and how doctors know what they know? Have you asked yourself where medicine all started? Never thought about it much since being out of high school. In modern times we have science based medicine. But this is the current mode of treating illnesses. In many ways ancient medicine and techniques have been used ever since the ancient times. There are many religions that brought forth the same procedures and would attribute illnesses to witchcraft, demons, celestial influence, or the will of the gods. The history has been traced by particular treatments in Ladakh, India which has a Tibetan Buddhist culture and religion and the Greek religious god Asclepius who was the Divine Healer or miracle working physician;
Medicine has come a long way from the Greek period. Theories composed of the four elements were used to explain the sick phenomenon that happens to our bodies. Many of the those theories are not relevant as of now. Medicine and remedies has begun with the Earth, providing all types of compounds and
Lastly, the most important areas of Greek achievement were math and science. They achieved all kinds of things in the areas of psychology, astronomy, geometry, biology, physics, and medicine. In astronomy they formulated the ideas that the sun was 300 times larger than the earth, the universe was composed of atoms, and they also calculated the true size of the earth. Someone that was greatly involved in astronomy was Aristotle. In geometry, ancient Greeks found the value of pi, and Euclid, who wrote the book Elements around 30 B.C., theorized that of two straight lines cut one another, the vertical, or opposite, angles shall be equal. In physics, the lever and pulley was invented along with a force pump which eventually evolved into a stream engine. Important people in this area were Archimedes and Pythagoras who were two of the many influential in the Greek citizens. Ancient Greece has definitely made many influential contributions to that of western civilizations.
Greek Antiquity was a time of some of the greatest minds of all time, such as Plato and Aristotle, leading to many inventions and ideas that are still relevant today, from hydraulics to astronomy. One of the most influential realizations, however, came from the mind of a man named Hippocrates, as he began the real start of the practice of medicine.
Hippocrates is most commonly known as “the father of western medicine.” Because he lived so long ago, it is not exactly clear when he was born and when he died. The best estimates are that he was born around 460 BCE and died around 370 BCE. He lived during the Greek Golden Age, which had influence on his prosperity in medicine. It is believed that he was born on the Island of Cos, where he later taught medicine. During Hippocrates’ life, Cos was particularly famous for its medical school. He studied under his father, Heraclides, who was also a physician. It is believed that his Grandfather was a physician as well. Giving that both his father and grandfather were