‘First, do no harm!’ Hippocrates didn’t really say it…
Every medical (and naturopathic) student is taught Hippocrates’ first principle of medicine:
“Primum non nocere,” Latin for “First, do no harm.” Or, sometimes translated as, “Above all, do no harm!”
(It is almost always cited with the exclamation point at the end of the sentence.)
One little problem, says researcher Cedric M. Smith, MD, FCP: Hippocrates didn’t say this.
In a Journal of Clinical Pharmacology article, Origin and Uses of Primum Non Nocere—Above All, Do No Harm!, Smith reported that the earliest written reference to the phrase is from 1860 and it is attributed there to the 17th century “father of clinical medicine,” Thomas Sydenham.
–ken winston caine
Source:
The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 2005; 45:371-377
Some similar posts:
- Not Exactly
