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Hippocrates Facts & Worksheets

Hippocrates is considered one of the most significant figures in the field of medicine. He was a physician and a teacher of medicine. He is known as the “Father of Medicine.”

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Hippocrates is considered one of the most significant figures in the field of medicine. He was a physician and a teacher of medicine. He is known as the “Father of Medicine.”

See the fact file below for more information on Hippocrates, or you can download our 29-page Hippocrates worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

PERSONAL LIFE

  • Details about the personal life of Hippocrates are limited.
  • Most information about him came from sources written by his first biographer, Soranus of Ephesus, a Greek physician from the 2nd century.
  • According to historians, Hippocrates was born on the Greek island of Kos in 460 BCE.
  • Soranus stated that Hippocrates’ parents were Heraclides and Praxitela.
  • His father was also a physician.
  • Hippocrates married a noblewoman and had two sons, Thessalus and Draco, who were also his students.
  • He also had a daughter who married Polybus, another student of Hippocrates.
  • Hippocrates was taught medicine by his physician father and his grandfather, Hippocrates I.
  • His life was spent learning and practicing medicine, traveling in various places like Thessaly, Thrace, and the Sea of Marmara.
  • Hippocrates was known to have built and run a medical school in Kos, the Kos School of Medicine.
  • In Plato’s Protagoras, he claimed that Hippocrates taught medicine for a fee.
  • Another dialogue of Plato, known as Phaedrus, stated that for Hippocrates, it was necessary for medicine to have complete knowledge of the body and for it to be treated as a whole.
  • He wrote the Hippocratic Oath, and some of his medical teachings in pulmonary medicine and surgery are still used today.

HIS THEORIES

  • Hippocrates was the first person to believe that diseases were caused naturally and not because of superstition.
  • According to him, diseases were not punishment by the gods but a result of different environmental factors, diet, and living habits.
  • He was the first physician to believe it was the brain and not the heart that produced thoughts, feelings, and ideas. 
  • He believed in the natural healing process, which can come from rest, a healthy diet, and cleanliness.
  • The disciples of Pythagoras credited Hippocrates with uniting philosophy and medicine.
  • Despite his belief, Hippocrates also worked with principles now considered incorrect in anatomy and physiology.
  • An example is Humorism, which states that the human body is composed of four basic humors. 
  • A person is considered to be healthy if these humors are balanced.

CONTRIBUTIONS

  • Many diseases and medical conditions were first identified by Hippocrates and his followers.
  • He was credited for determining a significant symptom, known as the clubbing of fingers, of chronic lung diseases, cyanotic heart diseases, and lung cancer.
  • He described the Hippocratic face as a change in appearance due to excessive hunger, long-term illness, or death that is likely to happen.
  • He was also able to describe the many symptoms of different diseases.
  • He accurately determined the symptoms of pneumonia and epilepsy in children.
  • Hippocrates categorized illnesses as acute, chronic, endemic, and epidemic.
  • He used medical terms such as exacerbation, resolution, crisis, relapse, peak, paroxysm, and convalescence.
  • The first documented chest surgeon was also Hippocrates and some of his teachings and techniques in this area are still used today.

HIPPOCRATIC CORPUS

  • A large collection of about seventy medical works written in Ionic Greek, known as the Hippocratic Corpus, were compiled during the Hellenistic Period in Ptolemaic Alexandria.
  • The collection was composed of works by different authors.
  • There were claims that Hippocrates authored some works in the Corpus; however, there was no evidence that he wrote in the collection.
  • Yet many of his ideas were there.
  • The Corpus contained documents on the various fields of medicine, written for all audiences.
  • Among the notable works included in the corpus are The Hippocratic Oath, Waters and Places, and The Book of Prognostics.

HIPPOCRATIC OATH

  • The Hippocratic Oath can be considered the most famous work in the Hippocratic Corpus.
  • It contains the ethics of medical practice; physicians recite this to pledge that they should only use their skills to save lives and not to take them.
  • Over time, some information changed and was added to the Hippocratic Oath. 
  • Yet, the original document still serves as the foundation for oaths in medical practice and morals.

 I swear by Apollo Physician and Asclepius and Hygieia and Panaceia and all the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses, that I will fulfill according to my ability and judgment this oath and this covenant:

To hold him who has taught me this art as equal to my parents and to live my life in partnership with him, and if he is in need of money to give him a share of mine, and to regard his offspring as equal to my brothers in male lineage and to teach them this art—if they desire to learn it—without fee and covenant; to give a share of precepts and oral instruction and all the other learning to my sons and to the sons of him who has instructed me and to pupils who have signed the covenant and have taken an oath according to the medical law, but no one else.

I will apply dietetic measures for the benefit of the sick according to my ability and judgment; I will keep them from harm and injustice.

I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art.

I will not use the knife, not even on sufferers from stone, but will withdraw in favor of such men as are engaged in this work.

Whatever houses I may visit, I will come for the benefit of the sick, remaining free of all intentional injustice, of all mischief and in particular of sexual relations with both female and male persons, be they free or slaves.

What I may see or hear in the course of the treatment or even outside of the treatment in regard to the life of men, which on no account one must spread abroad, I will keep to myself, holding such things shameful to be spoken about.

If I fulfill this oath and do not violate it, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and art, being honored with fame among all men for all time to come; if I transgress it and swear falsely, may the opposite of all this be my lot.

Source: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/doctors/oath_classical.html

HIPPOCRATIC SCHOOL AND MEDICINE

  • The Hippocratic School he built did not focus on diagnosis; it focused on patient care and prognosis.
  • The medical practitioners applied general diagnoses and passive treatments.
  • Its physicians performed operations professionally and ensured that they kept records of each of their patients.
  • However, the disadvantage was that the school did not have a deep understanding of human anatomy because dissection during that time was forbidden.
  • Another is that they practiced Humorism, where four humors, black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood, were related to four basic illnesses, a theory that any imbalances in the four humors would result in diseases and disabilities.
  • Each was associated with the four elements, earth, water, fire, and air.
  • It can also be connected with the seasons.
    • Yellow bile (hot and dry – relates to summer)
    • Black bile (cold and dry – relates to autumn) 
    • Phlegm (cold and wet – relates to winter) 
    • Blood (hot and wet – relates to spring)
  • Through the associations and influences of the seasons and planets, the practitioners in the Hippocratic School determine the person’s physical and mental state.
  • They also highly relied on the ability of nature’s power to heal illnesses on its own. 
  • A concept related to this was called a crisis.
  • It is when the disease advances and wins and the patient surrenders to death, or natural processes make the patient recover.
  • A relapse may follow after the crisis and another.
  • Crises were believed to occur on critical days.
  • Hippocratic medicine was remarkable because of its discipline, strict professionalism, and meticulous practice.

LEGACY

  • Aristotle stated that Hippocrates was known as “The Great Hippocrates.”
  • He was described as intellectual, wise, practical, kind, dignified, and an old country physician.
  • Despite this, he was later labeled stern and forbidding.
  • He was described by Francis Adams as strictly a physician of experience and common sense.

DEATH

  • Hippocrates died and was believed to be buried at Larissa in Thessaly around c. 370 BCE.
  • Most authors claimed that he lived a long life.
  • There were various estimates of his age when he died – ninety being the lowest.

STORY TIME: HIPPOCRATES AND THE PLAGUE

  • In the Speech of the Envoy, written by the followers of Hippocrates, there was a story about Hippocrates and the Plague.
  • In 420 BC, when Hippocrates met the barbarians from the lands to the north of Greece, he found out about a plague affecting them.
  • Through the climate and wind directions, he was able to correctly predict that the plague would arrive in Greece.
  • Therefore, he gave warnings to the Greek cities.
  • When he was in his early 40s, he traveled to the cities of Greece to help treat the disease.
  • Due to his work, he was awarded a gold crown by the city of Athens.

Hippocrates Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about Hippocrates across 29 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about Hippocrates. Hippocrates is considered one of the most significant figures in the field of medicine. He was a physician and a teacher of medicine. He is known as the “Father of Medicine.”

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  1. Hippocrates Facts
  2. Hippocrates’ Truth
  3. Type In The Letters
  4. Hippocratic Oath
  5. Hippocrates Mapping
  6. Significant Contributions
  7. Past and Present Cures
  8. The Four Humors
  9. The Concept Behind
  10. Medical Terms
  11. Hippocrates and The Plague

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Hippocrates?

Hippocrates was a Greek physician who is widely considered to be the father of modern medicine. He was born on the island of Kos in 460 BCE and is credited with developing the Hippocratic Oath, a code of ethics for physicians that is still used today.

What were some of Hippocrates’ contributions to medicine?

Hippocrates believed that disease had natural causes, rather than being caused by the gods or supernatural forces, and he emphasized the importance of observation and documentation in the diagnosis and treatment of illness. He also developed the concept of the four humors, or bodily fluids, which were believed to influence a person’s health and personality.

What is the Hippocratic Oath?

The Hippocratic Oath is a code of ethics for physicians that is still used today. It was developed by Hippocrates and his followers and emphasizes the importance of treating patients with compassion and respect, maintaining patient confidentiality, and avoiding harm.

How did Hippocrates influence modern medicine?

Hippocrates’ emphasis on observation, documentation, and the natural causes of disease laid the foundation for modern medical practice. His ideas about the importance of ethical behavior and compassion for patients also continue to influence medical practice today.

What is the Hippocratic Corpus?

The Hippocratic Corpus is a collection of medical texts that were written by Hippocrates and his followers. It includes descriptions of diseases, medical procedures, and treatments, as well as discussions of medical ethics and philosophy. The Hippocratic Corpus is considered to be one of the most important sources of information about ancient Greek medicine.

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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