*** Today's Useless Fact ***

Why is Hippocrates considered the father of medicine?

Well it certainly had to be more than just that he was
married to its mother.

Unlike Aesop, Homer, and many modern doctors,
Hippocrates was a real person, who lived around 400 B.
C. It was the medicine of his time that wasn't too real.
It was essentially based on the whim of the gods. If
your foot was sore, it was because Zeus was sore at you.
Hippocrates pioneered the connection of different
symptoms with different diseases, recognizing that
illnesses had natural causes. He studied them and was
able to diagnose and prescribe for his patients.

But let's not get carried away with his modernity. He
also believed that there were four basic substances:
earth, air, fire, and water. They had counterparts in
the four bodily fluids: blood, phlegm, black and yellow
bile. These were called "humors." I don't know about
you, but I don't find them very funny.

And let's not forget the Hippocratic oath.