The Role of Diagnosis (διάγνωσις) and Prognosis (πρόγνωσις) in the Hippocratic Clinical Practice

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Associate Professor, Greco-Roman Archaeology and Classical Studies, Faculty of Arts, Alexandria University, Egypt

Abstract

The study aims to identify the Hippocratic approach of diagnosis “διάγνωσις” and prognosis “πρόγνωσις”, and to answer the question of how far did the Hippocratic physicians could differentiate the two. Further, it aims to explain to what extent the Hippocratic physicians could determine the role of both diagnosis and prognosis in the development of the appropriate treatment protocol for each case, in order to highlight how the Hippocratic physicians realized the importance of the time factor, as they used the diagnosis to detect diseases by observing symptoms before predicting the course of the disease that was diagnosed. Other questions to be answered by this study are the following: how did the physicians decide on the most appropriate treatment and its consequences on the disease? and what diagnostic means these Hippocratic physicians have used to get to an accurate diagnosis?
To clarify these matters, the study relied on ancient medical texts of the Hippocratic Corpus. The study employed the analytical approach and is structured over two phases:
 The first Phase: The Hippocratic approach of diagnosis, and the diagnostic aids adopted by the Hippocratic physicians.
The second phase: The prognosis of the patient's situation in later stages and its impact on the treatment protocol.
 
 

Keywords

References

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