Medicine

• Seasonal illnesses


  Certain illnesses more common at different times of the year based on the theory of humors
• Balance of humors


  If all humors in the body are balanced, a person is well; imbalance leads to illness
• The theory states that the body was composed of four liquids or humors linked to the four elements and the seasons: blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile
• Links to personality

  Believed to have links to personality traits
• The theory of humors attempted to explain illness without relying on supernatural ideas like evil spirits or God
• Colds with symptoms like shivers and phlegm were attributed to an imbalance of phlegm in the body according to the theory of humors
• Imbalance of humors


  Causes illness
• Theory of the four humors

  Based on the ideas of Greek philosophers like Aristotle and used by Greek doctor Hippocrates for diagnosing illnesses and suggesting treatments
• Medical treatment for constipation


  Identifying the cause (e.g., too little black bile), eating laxative foods to induce deliberate diarrhea
• The theory stated that illness was a result of imbalances in the humors
• In medieval times, the four humors theory represented continuity, with old ideas surviving for a long time
• Preventions based on the four humors were either common sense or potentially harmful, such as bleeding
• Bleeding was believed to be good for health, although it was not
• The four humors theory treated symptoms and not the cause of the disease
• The four humors theory was a widespread theory of disease causation for centuries
• The four humors theory was challenged in the Renaissance
• The importance of the four humors theory in medicine
• The four humors were blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm
• The four humors theory was used for treatments and preventions in medicine
• Medical treatment for rash and fever

  Identifying the cause (e.g., too much blood), bleeding the patient to restore balance of humors
• The four humors theory remained one of the most widespread theories of the cause of disease for centuries
• The theory was a rational explanation of illness, although incorrect
• The four humors theory persisted in some forms until Pasteur's germ theory
• In ancient Greek times, the four humors theory marked progress in medicine
• Ancient Greek medical treatment


  Identifying the cause of symptoms (e.g., phlegm for lots of phlegm and snot), extracting phlegm to balance humors (e.g., blowing nose, breathing in vapors)
• Treatments based on the four humors treated symptoms, not the cause of the disease
• The four humors theory was a significant concept in the history of medicine
• Treatments related to the four humors, especially bleeding, lasted a long time and began to be challenged in the Renaissance
• The four humors theory was based on imbalances in the humors
• Bleeding was considered vital by some, even for healthy individuals, up until the 19th century
• The four humors theory was a scientific and rational explanation for illness, even if incorrect
• Hippocratic Oath: 'I will prevent disease wherever I can for prevention is preferable to cure...'
• Hippocrates


  An ancient Greek doctor sometimes said to be the first true doctor in history
• Some of Hippocrates' methods are still in use today
• Many of Hippocrates' ideas remain useful even today, making him very important to the history of Medicine
• Hippocrates introduced innovations that made him the first doctor in history
• Doctors today still follow a similar process of clinical observation and diagnosis
• Hippocrates is the starting point for the medieval period in the history of Medicine
• Hippocrates wrote and shared his ideas in a series of texts known as the Hippocratic Corpus
• Hippocrates' methods were influential to doctors for millennia and some remain useful today