Famous Scientists - Hippocrates

 

 

Hippocrates (hip-ah-cra-tees) was a famous scientist. He lived in Greece over 2,000 years ago. He studied medicine. Hippocrates believed that there are four liquids inside the human body. He wrote that illness happened when these liquids are uneven.

A lot of people believed Hippocrates’ findings. Up until the late 1800s, many things that doctors did were still based on his work. Many of his findings are not believed in today’s medicine. However, new doctors still take an oath called the Hippocratic Oath. In this oath they promise to be good doctors.

Comprehension Questions

1. Hippocrates studied 

1. evolution. 
2. people. 
3. animals. 
4. medicine. 

2. Scientists no longer believe Hippocrates’ ideas about the four liquids, but it is important to remember those ideas because 

1. Hippocrates was the very first doctor. 
2. doctors believed them for a long time. 
3. doctors today promise to treat the four liquids. 
4. Hippocrates knew there are not really four liquids. 

3. Based on the passage, it is most likely that people no longer believe Hippocrates’ theories because 

1. they lost all of his ideas and writing 
2. scientists have proven the theories are incorrect 
3. they found out Hippocrates was not really a doctor 
4. there are only three liquids inside the human body 

4. Read the following sentences: “Hippocrates believed that there are four liquids inside the human body. He wrote that illness happened when these liquids are uneven.”

The word uneven most likely means 

1. all the same color as each other 
2. too hot 
3. not in balance with each other 
4. missing completely 

5. This passage is mainly about 

1. how doctors disproved Hippocrates’ theories of liquids. 
2. why doctors today still take the Hippocratic oath. 
3. how Hippocrates is important in the history of medicine. 
4. how ancient Greek medicine was very strange. 

6. How long did doctors do things based on the work of Hippocrates? 

(written answer)

7. Even though some of his theories were incorrect, how do we know that Hippocrates tried to be a good doctor? 

(written answer)

8. The question below is an incomplete sentence. Choose the answer that best completes the sentence.

Hippocrates is still an important figure in medicine ___________ most of his theories are no longer believed in modern medicine. 

1. since 
2. even though 
3. because 
4. after