Hippocrates was the first physician in history to establish medicine as a science and to suggest the boundaries of physicians' behavior towards their patients. The Hippocratic Oath is applied in many healthcare systems worldwide as an ethical guide for doctors graduating from medical school. It determines modern medicine's most significant values, such as physicians' specialization to avoid harm and respect patients' privacy. In this study, we present Hippocrates' contributions to clinical medicine and his innovative ideas for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease. We also analyze his achievements in the development of the main concepts of several medical specialties, such as neurology with his approach to the treatment of epilepsy, surgery with his techniques of antisepsis, urology with his theory on stone disease, orthopedics, and acute medicine, as well as their application in modern healthcare. We have conducted a review of the available literature from PubMed and Google Scholar databases.
Keywords: hippocrates; hippocratic oath; historical vignette; holistic medicine; medical ethics.
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