In 430 BC, a terrible plague happened in Athens. Many people suddenly have fever, vomiting, diarrhea, spasms, pustules and severe skin ulcers. Patients died one after another. Within a few days, Athens was full of unburied bodies. People avoid this life-threatening disease. But at this time, a physician from the kingdom of Macedonia in northern Greece risked his life to go to Athens for treatment. While investigating the epidemic situation, he explored the cause and rescue methods. Soon, he found that there was only one person in the city who was not infected with the plague, and that was the blacksmith who dealt with fire every day. He thought that maybe fire could prevent epidemics, so he lit fires all over the city to put out the plague.

This doctor is the famous ancient Greek doctor regarded as the "father of medicine" by the west, and Hippocrates, the founder of European medicine.

Hippocrates (about 460-377 BC) was born in a family of doctors on Kos Island in Asia Minor. His grandfather and father are both doctors and his mother is a midwife. In ancient Greece, the profession of doctors was handed down from generation to generation, so Hippocrates studied medicine with his father since childhood. After his parents died, he traveled to Greece, Asia Minor, Caspian Sea, North Africa and other places to practice medicine, which increased his knowledge and exposed him to folk medicine.

At that time, ancient Greek medicine was imprisoned by religious superstition. Wizards can only heal people through chanting, magic and prayer. This naturally won't have any curative effect. Patients are not only cheated out of a lot of money, but also often die because of delayed illness.

One day, Hippocrates saw a man in the street suddenly unconscious, convulsing all over, turning blue and foaming at the mouth. Everyone around us panicked and said, "He is possessed. Please call the guide quickly. "

Just then a monk passed by. He pretended to look at the patient and said, "He is ill. Only God can forgive him. Let's go to the temple. "

"no!" Hippocrates stood up and said, "There is no mental illness in the world. He has epilepsy, and taking him to the temple is incurable. " .

Monks don't care about Hippocrates at all. He proudly said: "What epilepsy is not epilepsy? His illness was given by the mountain god, and only by praying to the mountain god can he be cured. " Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand, it annoys the mountain god and makes you sick! Hippocrates said confidently: "Epilepsy is not more mysterious than other diseases, but has the same nature and similar etiology as other diseases. Only magicians, charlatans and liars will regard it as a mental illness! "

"How dare you curse the mountain god in public! How dare you! So what do you think caused this disease? "

"The brain, it is his brain that is out of order," Hippocrates showed no weakness.

But under the circumstances at that time, it was impossible for people to understand and accept his scientific explanation. The patient was finally taken to the temple without timely and effective treatment. The etiology of epilepsy pointed out by Hippocrates is considered to be correct by modern medicine, and the name of the disease he proposed has been used to this day. On another occasion, Hippocrates met a witch doctor who treated patients with fractures. The patient's right leg was run over by a wheel, bleeding profusely and passed out. But the witch doctor insisted that his family help the patient kneel in front of the idol with his left leg, and he muttered to himself, not knowing what to say.

Hippocrates stepped forward angrily and said, "How can you cure his injury by chanting? This is simply torturing patients, which is ridiculous! "

The witch doctor said disdainfully, "It seems that you can cure the injury. So, how do you think he can cure his injury? "

"Clean the wound, traction and reset the broken bone!" The treatment method proposed by Hippocrates for fracture patients is scientific. In order to commemorate him, later generations called this kind of mortar used for orthopedic surgery such as traction "Hippocrates mortar".

There is also a story about a patient with abdominal cramps and dysuria. After the diagnosis, Hippocrates told the patient's family that the patient's symptoms were caused by drinking unclean water. Dirty water gradually condenses in the urethra, which will cause severe pain and even block the urethra, resulting in poor urination. Obviously, Hippocrates was talking about urethral stones. In order to resist the fallacy of "God-given disease", Hippocrates actively explored human characteristics and the causes of diseases, and put forward the famous "body fluid theory". He believes that a complex human body is composed of four kinds of body fluids: blood, mucus, jaundice and black. Four kinds of body fluids account for different proportions in the human body, forming different temperament of people: impatience and agility; Blood with active temperament and sensitive movements; Quiet and slow-moving mucus; Depressed temperament, weak knees, and slow movements. People get sick because of the imbalance of four fluids. Liquid imbalance is the result of external factors. Therefore, he believes that when doctors enter a city, they should first pay attention to the trend, soil, climate, wind direction, water source, water, eating habits and lifestyle of the city, which are closely related to people's health and diseases.

Now it seems that Hippocrates' explanation of the causes of human temperament is not correct, but the name and division of temperament types he put forward have been used to this day. At that time, religion and customs prohibited autopsies. Hippocrates bravely broke through the ban and secretly dissected the human body, gaining a lot of knowledge about the human body structure. In his most famous surgical work, Head Trauma, he described in detail the cases of head injury and dehiscence, and put forward the surgical methods. The record of the operation is very detailed and the language used is very accurate, which proves that this is a summary of his personal experience.

In his collection of essays, Proverbs, he compiled many wise sayings about medicine and life, such as "life is fast and skills are long"; "Opportunity is rare, experiment is risky, and decision-making is more valuable"; Overeating hurts the body: "Sleepiness for no reason is a precursor to illness"; "A simple and delicious diet is more beneficial than a fine but unpalatable diet"; "Hope in nature" and so on, these experiences are widely known and still inspire people today.

It is said that Hippocrates had a deep friendship with democritus, an outstanding materialist philosopher in ancient Greece. Demok Park Jung Su is devoted to the study of natural science and philosophy, but he is not good at managing his family business. His people accused him of madness and debauchery in order to confiscate his property. When Hippocrates treated Tianmu Park Yung-soo, he found that the so-called "patient" was not a madman at all, but an outstanding thinker. So he argued in court and finally acquitted democritus. Ancient western doctors had to read an oath about medical ethics when they started their business: "I will keep my oath and be faithful." I should respect the teacher who taught me medical skills as I respect my parents. For my son, the teacher's son and my disciple, I will teach medical knowledge seriously. I will try my best to take medical measures that I think are beneficial to patients and can't bring pain and harm to patients. I will not give poison to anyone, nor will I instruct others to use it. I want to practice medicine and live honestly. No matter who you enter, you just want to cure the disease, don't do whatever you want, don't take bribes, and don't seduce the opposite sex. I will never reveal the private life I saw or heard that should not be revealed. "The maker of this medical code is Hippocrates. In the mid-20th century, the General Assembly of the World Medical Association formulated the International Code of Ethics for Medical Staff.