Humorism, or humoralism, was a theory of the makeup and workings of the human body adopted by ancient Greek and Roman physicians and philosophers. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 From Hippocrates onward, the humor theory was the most commonly held view of the human body among European physicians until the advent of modern medical research in the nineteenth century. Hippocrates of Cos II or Hippokrates of Kos ( ca. 460 BC – ca

Essentially, this theory held that the human body was filled with four basic substances, called four humours, or humors, which are in balance when a person is healthy. All diseases and disabilities resulted from an excess or deficit of one of these four humors. The four humors were identified as black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood. Erich Adickes, Eduard Spränger, Ernst Kretschmer, and Erich Fromm all theorized on the four temperaments (with different names and greatly Phlegm ( is sticky Fluid secreted by the Mucous membranes of Humans and other Animals. Blood is a specialized Bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's cells ��such as nutrients and oxygen—and transports Waste products Greeks and Romans, and the later Western European medical establishments that adopted and adapted classical medical philosophy, believed that each of these humors would wax and wane in the body, depending on diet and activity. When a patient was suffering from a surplus or imbalance of one fluid, then his or her personality and physical health would be affected. This theory was closely related to the theory of the four elements: earth, fire, water and air - earth was predominantly present in the black bile, fire in the yellow bile, water in the phlegm, and all four elements were present in the blood. Many ancient philosophies used a set of archetypal classical "elements" to explain patterns in Nature. ^[1]

Theophrastus and others developed a set of characters based on the humors. Theophrastus ( Greek:; 371 – c 287 BC a Greek native of Eressos in Lesbos, was the successor of Aristotle in the Peripatetic Those with too much blood were sanguine. Erich Adickes, Eduard Spränger, Ernst Kretschmer, and Erich Fromm all theorized on the four temperaments (with different names and greatly Those with too much phlegm were phlegmatic. Erich Adickes, Eduard Spränger, Ernst Kretschmer, and Erich Fromm all theorized on the four temperaments (with different names and greatly Those with too much yellow bile were choleric, and those with too much black bile were melancholic. Erich Adickes, Eduard Spränger, Ernst Kretschmer, and Erich Fromm all theorized on the four temperaments (with different names and greatly Erich Adickes, Eduard Spränger, Ernst Kretschmer, and Erich Fromm all theorized on the four temperaments (with different names and greatly The idea of human personality based on humors contributed to the character comedies of Menander and, later, Plautus. Menander ( Greek:, Menandros; ca 342&ndash291 BC Greek Dramatist, the best-known representative of Athenian New Comedy, was the son Titus Maccius Plautus (c 254–184 BCE commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman Playwright.

Through the neo-classical revival in Europe, the humor theory dominated medical practice, and the theory of humoral types made periodic appearances in drama. Drama is the specific mode of Fiction represented in Performance. Such typically "eighteenth-century" practices as bleeding a sick person or applying hot cups to a person were, in fact, based on the humor theory of surpluses of fluids (blood and bile in those cases). Bloodletting (or blood-letting, in modern medicine referred to as phlebotomy) was a tremendously popular medical practice from antiquity up to the late Ben Jonson wrote humor plays, where types were based on their humoral complexion. Benjamin Jonson ( c 11 June 1572 &ndash 6 August 1637) was an English Renaissance Dramatist The comedy of humours refers to a Genre of Dramatic Comedy that focuses on a character or range of characters each of whom has one overriding Complexion refers to the natural color texture and appearance of the Skin, especially that of the face

Additionally, because people believed that there were finite amounts of humors in the body, there were folk/medical beliefs that the loss of fluids was a form of death.

History and the connection with temperament theory

Although modern medical science has thoroughly discredited humorism, this "wrong-headed theory dominated medical thinking. . . until at least the middle of the 20th century, and in certain ways continues to influence modern-day diagnosis and therapy. " ^[2]

The concept of four humors may have origins in ancient Egypt^[3] or Mesopotamia,^[4] but it was not systemized until ancient Greek thinkers around 400 BC who directly linked it with the popular theory of the four elements earth, fire, water and air (Empedocles). Ancient Egyptian Medicine refers to the practices of healing common in Ancient Egypt from Circa 3300 BC until the Persian Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding Events By place Persian Empire Artaxerxes II King of Persia appoints Tissaphernes to take over all the districts in Many ancient philosophies used a set of archetypal classical "elements" to explain patterns in Nature. Empedocles ( Greek:, ca 490–430 BC was a Greek Pre-Socratic Philosopher and a citizen of Agrigentum, a Greek colony in Paired qualities were associated with each humour and its season. A season is one of the major divisions of the Year, generally based on yearly periodic changes in Weather. The word humour derives from the Greek χυμός, chymos (literally juice or sap, metaphorically flavor). Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly JUICE is a widely used non-commercial Software package for editing and analysing phytosociological data Flavor or flavour is the sensory impression of a Food or other substance, and is determined

The four humours, their corresponding elements, seasons, sites of formation, and resulting temperaments alongside their modern equivalents are:^[5]

The four temperaments (Clockwise from top right; choleric; melancholic; sanguine; phlegmatic). The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI assessment is a psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions In traditional cultures air is often seen as a universal power or pure substance The liver is a vital organ in the human body and is present in Vertebrates and some other animals Erich Adickes, Eduard Spränger, Ernst Kretschmer, and Erich Fromm all theorized on the four temperaments (with different names and greatly The Artisan temperament is one of the Four Temperaments defined by David Keirsey. Fire has been an important part of many cultures and religions from pre-history to modern day and was vital to the development of civilization The gallbladder (or cholecyst sometimes gall bladder is a small organ whose function in the body is to store Bile and aid in the digestive process Erich Adickes, Eduard Spränger, Ernst Kretschmer, and Erich Fromm all theorized on the four temperaments (with different names and greatly The Idealist temperament is one of the Four Temperaments defined by David Keirsey. Earth, home and origin of humanity has often been worshipped in its own right with its own unique spiritual tradition The spleen is an organ found in all Vertebrate animals In humans the spleen is located in the abdomen of the body where it functions in the destruction of redundant Red Erich Adickes, Eduard Spränger, Ernst Kretschmer, and Erich Fromm all theorized on the four temperaments (with different names and greatly The Guardian temperament is one of the Four Temperaments defined by David Keirsey. Irritation or exacerbation, in Biology and Physiology, is a state of Inflammation or painful reaction to Allergy or cell-lining damage Water has been important to all peoples of the earth and it is rich in spiritual tradition The brain is the center of the Nervous system in animals All Vertebrates and the majority of Invertebrates have a brain lung is the essential Respiration organ in air-breathing Animals including most Tetrapods a few Fish and a few Snails The most primitive Erich Adickes, Eduard Spränger, Ernst Kretschmer, and Erich Fromm all theorized on the four temperaments (with different names and greatly The Rational temperament is one of the Four Temperaments defined by David Keirsey.

Hippocrates is the one credited with applying this idea to medicine. Hippocrates of Cos II or Hippokrates of Kos ( ca. 460 BC – ca Humoralism, or the doctrine of the four temperaments, as a medical theory retained its popularity for centuries largely through the influence of the writings of Galen (131-201 AD) and was decisively displaced only in 1858 by Rudolf Virchow's newly published theories of cellular pathology. Galen ( Greek: Γαληνός Galēnos; Latin: Claudius Galenus, Aelius Galenus, Claudius Aelius Galenus, or Events By Place Asia Earliest trace of the Kyrgyz. By Topic Religion In November Year 1858 ( MDCCCLVIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Rudolf Ludwig Karl Virchow ( 13 October 1821 &ndash 5 September 1902) was a German doctor, anthropologist, public health The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known living Organisms It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living and is often called Pathology (from Greek grc πάθος pathos, "fate harm" and grc -λογία -logia) is the study and While Galen thought that humours were formed in the body, rather than ingested, he believed that different foods had varying potential to be acted upon by the body to produce different humours. Food is any substance usually composed primarily of Carbohydrates Fats water and/or Proteins that can be eaten or drunk by an Warm foods, for example, tended to produce yellow bile, while cold foods tended to produce phlegm. Seasons of the year, periods of life, geographic regions and occupations also influenced the nature of the humours formed. Life is a state that distinguishes Organisms from non-living objects such as non-life and dead organisms being manifested by growth through Metabolism Geography (from Greek γεωγραφία - geografia) is the study of the Earth and its lands features inhabitants and phenomena The term profession is applied to those persons who have specialized and technical skill or knowledge which they apply for a fee to certain tasks that ordinary and unqualified people cannot

The imbalance of humours, or dyscrasia, was thought to be the direct cause of all diseases. Dyscrasia, is a concept from Ancient Greek Medicine with the word "dyskrasia" meaning bad mixture A disease is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions and can be deadly Health was associated with a balance of humours, or eucrasia. The physician Galen (130-199 AD elaborated a model of health and disease as a structure of elements qualities humors organs and temperaments The qualities of the humours, in turn, influenced the nature of the diseases they caused. Yellow bile caused warm diseases and phlegm caused cold diseases.

In On the Temperaments, Galen further emphasized the importance of the qualities. An ideal temperament involved a balanced mixture of the four qualities. In psychology temperament is the innate aspect of an individual's personality such as Introversion or Extroversion. Galen identified four temperaments in which one of the qualities, warm, cold, moist or dry, predominated and four more in which a combination of two, warm and moist, warm and dry, cold and dry or cold and moist, dominated. These last four, named for the humours with which they were associated—that is, sanguine, choleric, melancholic and phlegmatic, eventually became better known than the others. Sanguine refers to a reddish often tending to brown color of Chalk used in Drawing. Erich Adickes, Eduard Spränger, Ernst Kretschmer, and Erich Fromm all theorized on the four temperaments (with different names and greatly Erich Adickes, Eduard Spränger, Ernst Kretschmer, and Erich Fromm all theorized on the four temperaments (with different names and greatly While the term temperament came to refer just to psychological dispositions, Galen used it to refer to bodily dispositions, which determined a person's susceptibility to particular diseases as well as behavioral and emotional inclinations. Psychology (from Greek grc ψῡχή psȳkhē, "breath life soul" and grc -λογία -logia) is an Academic and

In Islamic medicine, Avicenna (980-1037) extended the theory of temperaments in The Canon of Medicine to encompass "emotional aspects, mental capacity, moral attitudes, self-awareness, movements and dreams. TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> ( Persian /ابو علی الحسین ابن عبدالله ابن سینا (born The Canon of Medicine ( Arabic: القانون في الطب Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb " The Law of Medicine " Persian An emotion is a mental and physiological state associated with a wide variety of feelings thoughts and behaviours A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event Self-awareness is the concept that one exists as an individual separate from other people with private Thoughts. Dreams are the images sounds thoughts and feelings experienced while Sleeping, particularly strongly associated with Rapid eye movement sleep. " He summarized his version of the four humours and temperaments in a table as follows:^[6]

Rhazes (865-925) was the first physician to refute the theory of four humours in his Doubts about Galen. TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> ( Persian /ابو علی الحسین ابن عبدالله ابن سینا (born In psychology temperament is the innate aspect of an individual's personality such as Introversion or Extroversion. Inflammation ( Latin, inflamatio, to set on fire is the complex biological response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli such as Pathogens Fever (also known as pyrexia, from the Greek pyretos meaning fire or a febrile response, from the Latin word Febris Fever (also known as pyrexia, from the Greek pyretos meaning fire or a febrile response, from the Latin word Febris Rheumatism or Rheumatic disorder is a non-specific term for medical problems affecting the Heart, Bones Joints Kidney, Skin In Physics and other Sciences energy (from the Greek grc ἐνέργεια - Energeia, "activity operation" from grc ἐνεργός Digestion is the breaking down of chemicals in the body into a form that can be absorbed Digestion is the breaking down of chemicals in the body into a form that can be absorbed Taste (or more formally gustation) is a form of direct Chemoreception and is one of the traditional five Senses Thirst is the craving for liquids resulting in the basic Instinct of humans or animals to Drink. The cardia (also known as Z-line or esophagogastric junction or gastroesophageal junction) is the anatomical term for the junction orifice of FLUID ( F ast L ight '''U'''ser '''I'''nterface D esigner is a graphical editor that is used to produce FLTK Source code Mucous connective tissue (or mucous tissue) is a type of Connective tissue found during Fetal development For the band see Saliva (band; for the village in Azerbaijan see Səliva. Somnolence (or " drowsiness " is a state of near- Sleep, a strong desire for sleep or sleeping for unusually long periods (c Insomnia is a symptom of a sleeping disorder characterized by persistent difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep despite the opportunity In Medicine, a person's pulse is the throbbing of their arteries. Flaccid paralysis is a Clinical Manifestation characterized by Weakness or Paralysis and reduced Muscle tone without other obvious In Medicine, diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea (see spelling differences) is frequent loose or liquid Bowel movements Acute diarrhea Eye puffiness, also known as "puffy eyes" or swelling around the eyes, refers to the appearance of swelling in the tissues around the Eyes called Roughness is a measure of the texture of a Surface. It is quantified by the vertical deviations of a real surface from its ideal form Habits are habituated routines of behavior that are repeated regularly tend to occur Subconsciously and tend to occur without directly thinking consciously Roughness is a measure of the texture of a Surface. It is quantified by the vertical deviations of a real surface from its ideal form Habits are habituated routines of behavior that are repeated regularly tend to occur Subconsciously and tend to occur without directly thinking consciously A humectant is a Hygroscopic substance. It is often a molecule with several Hydrophilic groups most often Hydroxyl groups but Amines Summer is one of the four Temperate Seasons Summer marks the warmest time of year with the longest days Winter is one of the four Seasons of Temperate zones Calculated astronomically, it begins on the Solstice and ends on the Equinox Autumn (also known as fall in North American English) is one of the four Temperate Seasons Autumn marks the transition from Summer He carried out an experiment which would upset this system by inserting a liquid with a different temperature into the body resulting in an increase or decrease of bodily heat, which resembled the temperature of that particular fluid. In scientific inquiry an experiment ( Latin: Ex- periri, "to try out" is a method of investigating particular types of research questions or Rhazes noted that a warm drink would heat up the body to a degree much higher than its own natural temperature, thus the drink would trigger a response from the body, rather than transferring only its own warmth or coldness to it. ^[7] Avenzoar (1091-1161) carried out an experimental dissection and autopsy to prove that the skin disease scabies was caused by a parasite, a discovery which upset the theory of humorism. Abū Merwān ’Abdal-Malik ibn Zuhr ( أبو مروان عبد الملك بن زهر) (also known as Ibn Zuhr, Avenzoar, Abumeron or Ibn-Zohr Dissection (also called anatomization) is usually the process of disassembling and observing something to determine its internal structure and as an aid to discerning the function An autopsy, also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy, or obduction, is a Medical procedure that consists of a thorough Examination Scabies is a transmissible ectoparasite Skin Infection characterized by superficial Burrows intense pruritus (itching and Secondary Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between Organisms of different Species. The removal of the parasite from the patient's body did not involve purging, bleeding, or any other traditional treatments associated with the four humours. Bleeding, technically known as hemorrhaging / haemorrhaging (see American and British spelling differences) is the loss of Blood from ^[8] Ibn al-Nafis (1213-1288) then discredited the theory of four humours after his discovery of the pulmonary circulation^[9] and coronary circulation. TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> Ala al-Din Abu al-Hassan Ali ibn Abi-Hazm al-Qarshi al-Dimashqi ( Pulmonary circulation is the portion of the Cardiovascular system which carries Oxygen -depleted Blood away from the heart to the Lungs, and Coronary circulation is the circulation of blood in the Blood vessels that supply Blood to and from the Heart muscle ^[10]

Methods of treatment like blood letting, emetics and purges were aimed at expelling a harmful surplus of a humour. Bloodletting (or blood-letting, in modern medicine referred to as phlebotomy) was a tremendously popular medical practice from antiquity up to the late Vomiting (also called throwing up, emesis) is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's Stomach through the Mouth and sometimes the They remained part of mainstream Western medicine until the 17th century when William Harvey investigated the circulatory system. William Harvey ( April 1, 1578 – June 3, 1657) was an English Physician who is credited with being the first in This is an article about the rock music band "Circulatory System" Other methods used herbs and foods associated with a particular humour to counter symptoms of disease, for instance: people who had a fever and were sweating were considered hot and wet and therefore given substances associated with cold and dry.

There are still remnants of the theory of the four humours in the current medical language. For example, we refer to humoral immunity or humoral regulation to mean substances like hormones and antibodies that are circulated throughout the body, or use the term blood dyscrasia to refer to any blood disease or abnormality. The Humoral Immune Response (HIR is the aspect of immunity that is mediated by secreted Antibodies (as opposed to Cell-mediated immunity which involves Hormones (from Greek ὁρμή - "impetus" are chemicals released by cells that affect cells in other parts of the body Antibodies (also known as immunoglobulins, abbreviated Ig) are Gamma globulin Proteins that are found in Blood or other Bodily Blood is a specialized Bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's cells ��such as nutrients and oxygen—and transports Waste products Hematology ( American English) or haematology ( British English) is the branch of biology (physiology Pathology, Clinical laboratory The associated food classification survives in adjectives that are still used for food, as when we call some spices "hot" and some wine "dry". When the chilli pepper was first introduced to Europe in the sixteenth century, dieticians disputed whether it was hot or cold. The chili pepper, chilli pepper, or chili, is the fruit of the plants from the Genus Capsicum, which are members of the nightshade

The humours can be found in Elizabethan works, such as in Taming of the Shrew, in which the character Petruchio pretends to be irritable and angry to show Katherina what it is like being around a disagreeable person. Romance and reality The Victorian era and the early twentieth century idealised the Elizabethan era The Taming of the Shrew is an early comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written between 1590 and 1594 He yells at the servants for them serving mutton, a "choleric" food, to two people who are already choleric.

Foods in Elizabethan times were believed all to have an affinity with one of these four humours. A person suffering from a sickness in which they were coughing up phlegm were believed to be too phlegmatic and might have been served wine (a choleric drink and the direct opposite humour to phlegmatic) to balance it out.

The theory was a modest advance over the previous views on human health that tried to explain disease in terms of evil spirits. Since then, practitioners have started to look for natural causes of disease and to provide natural treatments.

The Unani school of Indian medicine, still apparently practiced in India, is very similar to Galenic medicine in its emphasis on the four humours and in treatments based on controlling intake, general environment, and the use of purging as a way of relieving humoral imbalances. Unani IPA: (in Arabic, Hindi, Persian, Pashtu, Urdu, etc means " Greek " India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Galen ( Greek: Γαληνός Galēnos; Latin: Claudius Galenus, Aelius Galenus, Claudius Aelius Galenus, or

References

See also

• Four Temperaments
• Wu Xing (Five Elements of Chinese philosophy)
• Five Temperaments

External links

• In Our Time (BBC Radio 4) episode on the four humours in MP3 format, 45 minutes