Explain the significance of Hippocrates and Galen to the development of medicine (8)

Explain the significance of Hippocrates and Galen to the development of medicine (8)

Hippocrates was born in Greece in 460 BC and is regarded by many as the father of modern medicine. Around 60 texts are attributed to Hippocrates, although many may have been written by his followers. He was the first physician to regard the body as a whole, to be treated as a whole, rather than individual parts. As a result, Hippocrates based his thinking around the Four Humours. He believed that the human body contains blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile. The Four Humours were to be kept in balance if a person was to be healthy. Hippocrates was significant in the development of medicine because he developed the Theory of the Four Humours which influenced ideas about the causes of disease for hundred of years after his death. As a result, treatments of disease in the Middle Ages were also based on Hippocrates's' Four Humours. This was important because the Theory of the Four Humours was incorrect so Hippocrates' influence hindered medical progress in the long-term. Hippocrates demanded that all life be respected and that if a doctor did not know how to treat an illness that  he should refrain from anything that could be considered harmful. He believed that there should be confidence. This is called the Hippocratic Oath and is still used today. It makes it clear that doctors should follow a strict set of rules on behaviour, keeping high standards of treatment. They have to work for the benefit of the patients. Hippocrates was significant in the development of medicine because he created the Hippocratic Oath which is still used today. This led to more doctors refraining from taking medical risks, allowing medicine to develop as doctors realised that they needed new ideas to cure diseases. It led to doctors acting more responsibly towards the patients, allowing medicine to develop as it was more…