Humor << `HYOO` muhr >> is any of four fluid elements that the ancient Greeks believed made up the flesh of the human body . The four humors were blood , choler (yellow bile ), phlegm, and melancholy (black bile). Ancient physicians had not yet discovered germs and other disease-causing microorganisms. They believed that illness was caused by imbalances in the four humors. They treated sickness by trying to restore the balance of humors. Doctors in Europe and the Middle East diagnosed and treated illnesses based upon the humors for more than 2000 years. The practice did not end until the development of the germ theory of disease in the 1800’s.
The humoral theory of disease originated with the ancient Greeks. Many of the most influential texts about the four humors were written by the Greek physician Galen , who died around A.D. 200. In his many works, Galen described how the humors affect the body. Each humor was thought to be either hot or cold and either wet or dry. The condition of a patient’s body would reveal which humor was out of balance, causing the illness.
During the Middle Ages (the A.D. 400’s through 1400’s), doctors who read Galen’s works believed that too much blood in the body caused many common symptoms. For example, an excess of blood made the body hotter, causing fever , and wetter, causing sweating or swelling. The remedy was to apply cooling treatments or to give the patient food and drink that had dry and cool qualities. A more serious treatment was bloodletting, the process of drawing blood from the body. Phlegm was blamed for causing pneumonia , allergies , asthma, and other lung ailments. Yellow bile and black bile were often related to problems in the digestive system . Black bile imbalances were also blamed for leprosy , cancer , and other serious diseases.
People believed that each person’s temperament was determined by which humor was most dominant in the body. The humors were thus connected not only to a person’s physical health but also to his or her mental health and personality . A “sanguine” personality was dominated by blood and was cheerful and friendly. A “bilious” or “choleric” person was easily angered and emotional from a dominance of yellow bile. By contrast, a “phlegmatic” person was calm and collected. A “melancholic” person was prone to sadness and depression from black bile. Many expressions from humoral theory continue in use today. For example, a person in a bad mood may be described as “in a bad humor.”
