ABSTRACT
For many years, some physicians have used the Hippocratic Oath as that summary of moral/medical wisdom. It is part of a collection of writings known as the Hippocratic Corpus. The oath is divided into two parts, an oath of initiation followed by a code of conduct. The oath of initiation contains a pledge of loyalty to the teacher. The second half of the oath contains the code of ethics itself. It is divided into three parts, dealing with dietetics, pharmacology, and surgery. The oath section also contains a pledge to the Greek gods and goddesses Apollo, Aesclepius, Hygeia, and Panacea. Several modern professional ethical codes stand in the Hippocratic tradition, at least in the sense that they stress the duty of the physician to benefit the patient. The Nazi physicians had abandoned the traditional ethical commitment of the physician to the individual patient's welfare. There are a number of Muslim oaths or codes for physicians.
