Nothing certain is known of the origin or the use of the Hippocratic Oath in the ancient world. The first Latin translations appeared in the 12th century. However, the Oath only became part of the European medical tradition when it was included in the Articella, a popular compilation of Greek and Arabic medical texts in Latin intended as a handy guide for the practitioner.

The first printed edition of the Articella appeared about 1476; the second edition of 1483 was the first to include the Oath. In this 1515 edition the Hippocratic Oath begins in the middle of folio xvii.