Pythagorean legacy in medicine

Article focuses on the influence of Pythagorean teaching on medicine. This allows examining the history of medicine as part of the philosophy and history of science. Among the philosophical ideas of the Pythagoreans significant to medicine are the ideas of opposites, mathematical proof and harmony. The magical tendencies typical for the teaching of the Pythagoreans should be seen as a factor limiting the influence of their teaching on medicine. It was some elements of Pythagorean teaching that were important to the development of medicine, rather than Pythagorean teaching as a whole. Certain ideas of Pythagorean teaching were developed within medicine as well, such as in the use of the apodictic method, based on the practice of anatomical dissection, teaching on general pathology and clinical classification. Article highlights the dual nature of Pythagorean teaching, which was based on both rational and magical elements.