Do No Harm

This essay considers at length some ethical, philosophical implications of the medical maxim, "Do no harm" (or "Primum non nocere"). It helps to designate the practice of medicine as a moral enterprise. It implies that the physician will render due care, but that "due care" will take into account both the risk-benefit ratio and the benefit-detriment equation. The essay closes with a brief discussion of euthanasia considered in the light of the maxim.