The Four Humors

The four types of humor take into account the lack of equipment and knowledge, and the medieval doctor has a sufficient understanding of human anatomy. As most people today know these doctors, most medieval doctors are philosophers, not real doctors. Most of the knowledge they get may be mere speculation, but considerable part is due to intensive observation. Many scientists are conducting intensive research on wounds and diseases, and one scientist, Empedocles, concludes that the body is composed of four major body fluids or body fluids.

The most historical theoretical solution for Coan writers is the body's four body fluids, blood, sputum, black bile, and yellow bile (or serum). Health is defined as the balance of four body fluids. Illness is defined as an imbalance of humor. When an imbalance occurs, the doctor can intervene to correct the body and regain balance. For example, if an individual is too saddened (it feels cold or drowsy), she must fight against convulsions. Citrus fruits are considered to be neutralizing agents. Therefore, if a person feels drowsy, if you increase the intake of that person's citrus, the balance returns. Indeed, treatment is usually effective. Modern people may explain the treatment by influence on vitamin C, phosphorus, natural sugar.

Paracelsus did not agree with Galen's body fluid theory, but he believes that it is the balance of four body fluids (blood, sputum, yellow, black bile). Paracelsus believes in three types of humor: salt (representing stability), sulfur (representing flammability), and mercury (representing mobility). He defines the disease as separation of humor from the other two kinds of humor. He proposed a simple principle that "poisons in the body are cured by similar poisons". He took chemistry into medicine. He extends his interest in chemistry and biology to what we consider now to be toxicology. Temkin and its collaborators summarize the basic principles of Paracelsianism (1996).