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Oaths of Hippocrates: Then & Now

    by Don Sapatkin
    Published 

The oath attributed to Hippocrates, the master physician who lived in the 5th Century B.C., has been repeatedly revised and updated to reflect the language and cultural beliefs of the period. Hundreds of oaths exist today.

Slightly different versions were recited at commencement - the transition from student to doctor - at each of the five medical schools in and around Philadelphia in May 2009. The same or other versions were recited four years earlier, during  the "white coat" ceremony that signifies the beginning of a doctor's training.

  1. Hippocratis jusiurandum: 1595 Hippocratic oath with side-by-side original Greek and Latin translation

  2. Literal version: Authoritative translation from the Ancient Greek by Heinrich von Staden

  3. Classical version: Original intent in modern language, translated by Michael North

  4. Multicultural version: Weill Cornell Medical College update by international scholars

  1. Drexel University College of Medicine: Nine oaths given to students for a vote; the first has always been chosen in recent years (scroll down pdf)

  2. Jefferson University College of Medicine: Oath of Hippocrates, 1980 edition

  3. Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine: The Osteopathic Oath, updated in 1954; with introduction

  4. Temple University School of Medicine: Hippocratic Oath, with introduction from 2009 commencement

  5. University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine: Oath of Hippocrates

  1. Discussion and related links: Is "First Do No Harm" From the Hippocratic Oath? Myth vs Fact