Medicine history

• Theory of the four humors


  One of the most important ancient medical ideas, incredibly important in the medieval period and even after that
• Theory of the four humors


  • Based upon the ideas of Greek philosophers like Aristotle, particularly used by Greek doctor Hippocrates
  • Used by Hippocrates to help diagnose illnesses and suggest treatments
  • Logical step towards trying to diagnose people in a scientific way, although not necessarily right
• Four humors


  • Blood
  • Phlegm
  • Black bile
  • Yellow bile
• Balance of humors


  If all humors in the body are balanced, a person is well. If there is too much or too little of a particular humor, the person becomes unwell
• Imbalance of humors


  Causes illness
• Certain illnesses


  More common at different times of the year
• The theory of the four humors is incorrect
• The theory of the four humors was an attempt to explain how illness was caused without relying on supernatural ideas
• Symptoms and treatments based on the four humors


  • Cold: Too much phlegm, treatment to extract phlegm
  • Rash and fever: Too much blood, treatment to bleed the patient
  • Constipation: Too little black bile, treatment to eat laxative foods
• Importance of the theory of the four humors


  • Represented progress in ancient Greek times as a scientific and rational explanation for illness
  • Represented continuity in medieval times as an old idea surviving for a very long time
  • Treatments related to the four humors, such as bleeding, lasted a very long time and were challenged in the Renaissance but still carried on in some forms into the 19th century and right up until Pasteur's germ theory
• Hippocrates


  An ancient Greek doctor sometimes said to be the first true doctor in history
• Hippocrates


  • Believed that illness had a natural cause and so treatments should be natural too
  • His ideas remained influential in the medieval period and Beyond
  • Some of his methods are still in use today
• Hippocrates is the starting point for the medieval period in this course
• People have been reluctant to challenge Hippocrates and his ideas which may have held back medical progress
• Many of Hippocrates' ideas remain useful even today
• Clinical observation and diagnosis

  Hippocrates' big idea
• Hippocrates developed the theory of the four humors
• Hippocrates' method of clinical observation and diagnosis


  1. Physician observes and records symptoms

  2. Compares to other illnesses and attempts diagnosis

  3. Refers to previous treatments and gives treatment

  4. Observes patient's response

  5. Records if treatment is effective or not
• Hippocrates' method of clinical observation and diagnosis is similar to how doctors work today, but with vastly superior knowledge
• Hippocratic Corpus


  Texts written and shared by Hippocrates, providing treatments for illness based upon his observations
• Hippocratic Oath


  An oath Hippocrates developed, which means a promise doctors still take in many countries today
• Hippocrates believed that doctors and healers needed to be trusted by their patients
• Hippocrates: 'If I do not violate this oath may I enjoy life and art respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter may I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help'
• Hippocrates


  • Created methods that were influential to doctors for Millennia, some of which remain useful even today
  • Popularized humorism, the theory of the four humors to explain disease and as a method of diagnosis and treatment
  • Inspired later individuals such as the Roman Dr Galen who built on his ideas
• Hippocrates was an ancient Greek philosopher and doctor
• Hippocrates introduced several innovations that mean he is sometimes considered the very first doctor
• Hippocrates' ideas were respected for a very long time and some remain relevant even today
• Galen


  An ancient Roman doctor, probably Greek by birth, who built on the ideas of Hippocrates and developed knowledge of his own
• Galen


  • Worked as a surgeon and doctor to Gladiators, becoming knowledgeable about anatomy and increasingly fascinated by how the body worked
  • Became a physician of important Romans including several Emperors
  • Developed some innovative ideas, some of which were correct but others were wrong
• Galen's insistence on not questioning his work resulted in progress being hindered, particularly by the medieval church and the Renaissance Church
• Eventually Galen's ideas were overcome, but some of his ideas actually did work and were correct
• Theory of the four humors


  A theory that Galen continued to use, which had been developed by Hippocrates
• Theory of opposites


  A theory based upon the work of Hippocrates, but refined by Galen
• Galen's treatment of illness


  1. Use opposites to balance up the humors

  2. Give fiery pepper or chili to treat a man with a cold and sneezing/coughing up phlegm
• Galen's methods


  • Used dissection and vivisection on apes and pigs to make discoveries
  • Could not do human dissection under Roman law, leading to incorrect assumptions
• Galen proved that the brain controls the body, not the heart
• Perfect Design


  Galen's idea that every organ in the body has a special role to play, as if the gods designed them all to fit together perfectly
• Galen's idea of Perfect Design was popular with the Christian church, although Galen himself would not have been a Christian
• Galen identified that the heart worked to pump blood around the body, but he theorized that the blood was produced by the liver and used up like a fuel in the body, which is incorrect
• Galen's pig dissection demonstration


  1. Gathered witnesses

  2. Cut specific nerves on the pig, causing paralysis

  3. Cut the nerve controlling the pig's squeal, showing the brain controlled the body through the nerves