Four-humors theory

Paracelsus went on to dismiss the theory on which the orthodox medicine of the day was based. This theory, which had originally been proposed by Hippocrates, held that the body contained four humors blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. Disease was supposedly a consequence of imbalances in these humors, and it was the physician s job to correct the imbalances. Furthermore, each humor was associated with one of the four elements. For example, a fever was clearly the result of the presence of too much fire. The humor that corresponded to fire was blood, so feverish patients should be bled. All of this was nonsense, Paracelsus said. The body was a kind of chemical laboratory, and a doctor must investigate the properties of chemical compounds to find those that would cure any specific disease. 

Applying Aristotle s theory to medicine, Galen of Pergamos (129-199 AD) proposed that in a healthy body, the four elements, which appear as four humors (blood, phlegm, bile, and black bde) are in equilibrium (an idea going back to Anaxogoras, 450 BC). Disease, he said, is caused by the predominance of an element and is cured by the opposite element. ... 

One of the oldest theories of the causes of mental illness, propounded by Hippocrates and other physicians from Greek and Roman societies, postulated that imbalances of substances in the body, called humors, were responsible for emotional maladies, many of which resembled the major mental disorders described in American Psychiatric Association s diagnostic manual. More specifically, Hippocrates posited that disease and mental illness were caused by surpluses or deficiencies in the four humors phlegm, yellow bile, black bile, and sanguine. For example, people with too much black bile were thought to be melancholic (very sad) those with too much yellow bile were thought to be irritable. For nearly 2,000 years (from ancient times until the nineteenth century), bloodletting to restore humoral balance was a common treatment for mental illness and other ailments. 

The fourth century b.c.e. philosopher Plato added four qualities to this theory hot, dry, wet, and cold Two of each of these qualities were shared by each element, as can be seen in Figure 5.2, and because of this shared quality one element could transform into another. Alchemists also related the four qualities and elements to four liquid qualities in the body called humors black bile, phlegm, blood, and yellow bile. They believed that health was attained through the proper balance of these humors. They also believed that an excess of any humor led to... 

One of the first people to apply science to medicine was the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates (ca. 460-377 b.c.e.). Influenced by the idea that the world is composed of four substances—earth, air, fire, and water—as taught by the Greek philosopher Empedocles (ca. 495-435 b.c.e.), Hippocrates proposed that four fluids are critical in determining a person s state of health. These fluids, known as humors (from a Latin term for moisture), were called blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm. According to Hippocrates, an imbalance in these humors caused disease. Later, people associated a specific temperament or personality with these humors, a theory that was one of the earliest attempts to explain moods and emotions. Blood, for example, was associated with an optimistic disposition, while black bile corresponded to depression. 

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