Although many of the Hippocratic Corpus\u27 anatomical, physiological and pathological doctrines have since been superseded, the premise of On the Sacred Disease - that disease is of a physical origin - stimulated the rise of rational, secular, and systematic medicine over magico-religious healing and the recognition of medicine as a true techne, or science. Before the time of Hippocrates, \u27pre-scientific\u27 Western medicine was predominantly magico-religious or characterized by magic-based appeals to supernatural beings. In On the Sacred Disease, however, Hippocrates attributes disease to both internal and external factors. Further holding that prognosis should be based on thorough examination, Hippocrates required highly detailed and meticulous clinical observations of his patients. After extensive studying of the work of Hippocrates, second century practitioner Galen argued in On Medical Experience that truth can be obtained only by means of reason in conjunction with experience, because expectation founded on reason alone is likely to be fruitless and misleading. As such, through its contributions to medical practicum and the scientific method, Hippocrates\u27 On the Sacred Disease remains as relevant in contemporary Westem society as it was over two millennia ago on the-Greek island of Cos
