CAM101A Essay: Examining Hippocrates' Impact on Complementary Medicine

This essay examines the contributions of Hippocrates, a pivotal figure in the history of medicine, to the field of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The essay begins by providing a biographical overview of Hippocrates, highlighting his establishment of the first medical school and his revolutionary shift towards a scientific approach to medicine. It then delves into Hippocrates' key contributions, including the development of the theory of the four humors and the creation of the Hippocratic Oath. The essay emphasizes the oath's significance in establishing ethical standards and patient-centered care in medical practice. Furthermore, it discusses how Hippocrates challenged prevailing beliefs about illness, advocating for treatment and research. The essay highlights the impact of Hippocrates' work on modern medicine, including the establishment of medical institutions, the importance of symptom study, and the advancement of medical knowledge. It concludes by emphasizing Hippocrates' lasting legacy and his influence on the development of CAM practices.

Running Head: HISTORY AND PHILOSPHY OF COMPLEMENTARY AND
ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
History and philosophy of complementary and alternative medicine
Student’s name
Institutional Affiliation

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Hippocrates
Hippocrates was a Greek physician who lived between 460 B.C to 375B.C. He is well
known in the medical field. He is believed to be the father of medicine due to his contributions.
He established the first school which was devoted to teaching the medical practice. He brought a
new revolution and changed the mentality people had concerning the illness that befell them. He
happens to be the author of many documents that are in the line of medicine. Such document is
Hippocratic oath that is still used even to date. He changed medical practice to a scientific view
(Thomas, Cooney and Fried, 2019). He developed the theory of four humors and stated how they
apply in the medical field.
Hippocrates came up with the Hippocratic oath which is used by the doctors in the whole
world. The oath requires the doctors to attend to patients with respect and help them cure their
illness since that is their promise that they make through the oath (Hulkower, 2016). Since the
introduction of the oath, patients are treated and handled with respect once they attend any
medical facility, in the present day. This is because the oath guides the conduct of the medics and
also creates that confidence in the patients that they can share their m medical issues without any
fear of victimization.
Hippocrates has helped people to understand that the way to know how the medicine
works is only by undergoing a treatment process. Many people believed that the illness and
disease they suffered came up as a result of annoying their gods (Cantor, 2017). This made them
to look for alternative ways to please their gods so they could get cure but Hippocrates advised
and encouraged them to look for treatments of their illness. This has helped to increase the
development in the medical field since there are a lot of research going on to establish the best
and appropriate cure of diseases and illness. This has greatly helped to improve the health status

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of the patients as they can identify the causes of their illness and know the best medication.
Through this search of treatment there has been found cure to many illness and diseases that
people are suffering from and also increase the medical knowledge.
Hippocrates has greatly contributed to the modern medicine since he was the founder of a
medical school. In the school he played a very key role to educate people on the practice of
medicine from practicing the superstitions that they believed in. He based his arguments on facts
and observation. He taught on the importance of studying the symptoms so as to come up with a
solution of the illness (Stamatakis, Hamer and Murphy, 2018). This has helped even in the
modern days as there have been established a lot of medical institutions where people are taught
more on medical field thus helping to improve the medical services being offered.
He left a legacy that has seen many embrace medical services from the ancient ways they
practiced and there is great improvement through research and the teachings from his books.
This development has made it possible to improve the health of people.

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References
Cantor, D. (2017). The Chemical Hippocrates: Paracelsian and Hippocratic Theory in Petrus
Severinus’ Medical Philosophy. In Reinventing Hippocrates (pp. 69-98). Routledge.
Hulkower, R. (2016). The history of the Hippocratic Oath: outdated, inauthentic, and yet still
relevant. Einstein Journal of Biology and Medicine, 25(1), 41-44.
Stamatakis, E., Hamer, M., & Murphy, M. H. (2018). What Hippocrates called ‘Man’s best
medicine’: walking is humanity’s path to a better world.
Thomas, J. M., Cooney, L. M., & Fried, T. R. (2019). Prognosis Reconsidered in Light of
Ancient Insights—From Hippocrates to Modern Medicine. JAMA internal
medicine, 179(6), 820-823.