Hippocrates of Kos lived from around 460 to 370 BC. He has been referred to as the “Father of Medicine.” He is credited with the use of prognosis, clinical observation, and the systematic categorization of diseases. the Hippocratic school of medicine was a dramatic influence on the development of ancient Greek medicine, establishing a medical discipline distinct from other fields of studies and professions. Whether it was Hippocrates or others in the school of medical practice that he founded who created the Hippocratic Oath, the medical commitment, still relevant and in use today is credited to him.

While almost all modern medical schools administer a professional oath, a variety of different words are used. The original oath has been modified several times throughout history and a modern version, developed following the Second World War is used in about half of the medical schools in the United States. This version is based on the 1948 Declaration of Geneva drafted to establish ethical guidelines for the world’s physicians.

It wasn’t the oath, however, that had me doing a bit of Internet research on Hippocrates. I was wondering about the origin of the word “Influenza” to describe the malady that has affected so many around the globe, has spread as epidemic and pandemics over the centuries and for which many of us receive an annual vaccine in attempt to limit its spread and effects. I got my annual influenza shot back in September this year. It has become part of my autumn routine. Although various forms of the vaccine, often in the form of a live virus incubated in eggs, have been available for most of my life, the practice of receiving an annual shot of the vaccine wasn’t routine for me until the last 20 or 25 years.

Why, I wondered, do we call the illness and the vaccine to prevent its most severe effects “influenza.” The word is Italian and you don’t have to speak Italian or be an etymologist to guess that it is related to the English word, “influence.” I found that people have been using the term to describe a variety of maladies that are spread from person to person. In 412 in the “Book of Epidemics,” Hippocrates described an influenza-like illness called “fever of Perinthus.” He didn’t use the word influenza, but some scholars claim this is the first historical description of influenza.

There is considerable debate over the actual viruses involved in historic pandemics. Over the centuries pandemics have been described in a variety of ways and the symptoms have indicated upper respiratory infections in many of those events. The use of the word influenza to describe an illness originated in the 15th century. It has sometimes been used in reference to illnesses that are probably not the common upper respiratory tract infection. It may have been used to describe outbreaks of scarlet fever and other diseases.

The belief was that illnesses were caused by intangible fluids that originated in the stars and were transmitted to humans causing illness. Those who were sick were identified as being “under the influence” of the stars. Of course all of this was before modern science identified germs and viruses as causes and paths of transmission of disease. When people didn’t understand why some people got sick while others remained healthy, their imaginations gave rise to a wide variety of explanations and theories.

I’m not much for astrology. I don’t believe that the motion of various planets and stars in the night sky are affecting mood and illness of humans. I’m more inclined to believe the findings of scientific research. Although not medically trained, I have paid a lot of attention to the contributions of physicians and psychiatrists and my understandings of illness come from their work. Sometimes it does seem, however, that there is a certain randomness about illness that lends itself to a variety of different speculations. In the case of influenza, the association with the influence of stars doesn’t seem all that far from human experience.

I have had years when I received a vaccination and remained symptom free all year. There have also been years when I have developed significant symptoms even after receiving the vaccination. I’ve had my share of coughs and other symptoms. There have been a few days when I’ve remained in bed, laid low by my symptoms. Like many others my age, I probably have gone to work and potentially shared illness with others, when I should have stayed home. And prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, I rarely wore a face mask even when I was experiencing bouts of sneezing and coughing. I continue to learn a lot about how to protect myself and others from illness and I hope that I am improving my behavior to reduce risk for others.

So far, since the pandemic, I haven’t contracted influenza. I haven’t even had to have a test for the virus. I have had a few colds, and developed coughs a couple of times. These were not severe and I treated them with over the counter medications. I have been very careful to keep up with my vaccinations. In recent weeks I’ve received vaccinations for Influenza and RSV as well as the newest bivalent Covid vaccination. I think that wearing masks whenever symptoms are present and when sharing small spaces with crowds, such as flying on airplanes, has helped limit the spread of colds and influenza as well as Covid.

For millennia, humans have wondered about illness and worked to remain healthy. The names we have given to various illnesses and diseases reflect our fascination will them. Although Hippocrates is not credited with the first use of the word influenza, he is often cited as the first to use cancer or “carcinoma” to describe a tumor with a central body and extensions that appear as legs. He didn’t use the Greek word “diabetes,” meaning siphon to describe any illness. The first documented use of that word to describe an illness wasn’t used until after his death, though ancient physicians described symptoms of the disease as early as 1550 BC.

As far as I know there is no medical term to describe the addictive fascination with language and the origin of words.