Hippocratic corpus
Hippocratic Corpus
The Hippocratic Corpus (pronounced: hi-puh-KRAT-ik KOR-puhs), also known as the Corpus Hippocraticum, is a collection of around 70 early medical works from ancient Greece, written in Ionic Greek. The question of the actual authorship of the corpus' contents is a subject of controversy. While traditionally associated with Hippocrates, it is now generally accepted that the works were not written by one single author.
Etymology
The term "Hippocratic" is derived from "Hippocrates", the name of a famous Greek physician. The term "Corpus" is Latin for "body", referring here to a body of work.
Content
The Hippocratic Corpus covers a wide range of medical topics, including clinical practice, pathology, surgery, and anatomy. The works vary in content, style, and length, ranging from brief case histories to lengthy theoretical works. The Hippocratic Corpus is significant for its establishment of medicine as a profession and for its ethical guidelines, known as the Hippocratic Oath.
Related Terms
- Hippocrates: An ancient Greek physician, traditionally regarded as the father of medicine. His teachings and writings form the basis of the Hippocratic Corpus.
- Hippocratic Oath: An oath historically taken by physicians, swearing to practice medicine ethically and honestly. It is often said to have been written by Hippocrates, but most scholars now believe it was written by one of his students or followers.
- Ionic Greek: The form of the Greek language that was spoken and written in the islands of the Aegean and the west coast of Asia Minor.
- Ancient Greece: A civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity (c. 600 AD).
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