- The Theory of Humours was originally put forward by Empedocles of Akragas (c.492-432 BCE) and subsequently confirmed by Hippocrates of Cos. (c.460-370 BCE).
- The Theory of Humours was that Four bodily fluids (Humours) control the physical and mental health of a person, giving the Four Temperaments. Hippocrates established a Procedure for healing Patients.
The Four Humours and the Four Temperaments
- Blood
- Temperament: Sanguine. Too much courage, optimism and over amorous (over sanguine) due to an excess of blood in the system.
- Earth element: air
- Organ: liver
- Season: spring. It was believed blood dominated in the Spring and Summer causing sickness and vomiting.
- Quality: warm and moist
- Cure: bleeding.
- Phlegm
- Temperament: Phlegmatic: Calm, unexcitable or unemotional people dominated by phlegm.
- Earth element: water
- Organ: brain and lungs
- Season: winter. It was thought to accumulate during the chilly winter causing sore throats and colds.
- Quality: cold and moist
- Yellow Bile
- Temperament: Choleric: excess yellow bile made a person easily angered and bad-tempered, yellowfaced, lean and hairy.
- Earth element: fire
- Organ: spleen
- Season: summer
- Quality: warm and dry
- Black Bile
- Temperament: Melancholic: an excess of black bile made a person gloomy, despondant, sleepless and irritable.
- Earth element: earth
- Organ: gall bladder
- Season: autumn
- Quality: cold and dry
- Cure: sweat out the black bile.
Hippocrates’ Method of Curing Patients
- Diagnosis:
- Defining which of the Humours was producing the patient’s illness.
- ‘Reading’ a Patient’s character.
- This was done by the Physician lightly placing his hands on the patient’s abdomen – (stomach area) to check the balance of the Humours.
- Cure:
- Restoration of the equilibrium of the Humours. Herbs were central to this restoration of the equilibrium.
- Also purges and emetics. but this was not easy to achieve; other factors interfered, such as the patient’s sex, age, diet, the weather and the time of the year (winter or summer)
- A balanced diet:
- This was recommended with no eating or drinking to excess. Food was associated with each of the Four Humours, so foods and beverages associated with the opposite quality were given
- Applying the opposite quality:
- Fever and sweating were associated with being warm and moist, so the patient would be given substances associated with being cold and dry.