[Humoralism and its influence on western medicine]

Abstract

As the cornerstone of the ancient theories in the west, humoralism had been a dominative theory in medicine from the ancient Greek time to the 19th century, prior to the birth of the bacterial theory of disease. As a theory of holistic medicine in the west in ancient period, humoralism was similar to traditional Chinese medicine in its viewpoints of health and disease. Therefore, the review of its origin, cardinal principles and its evolution, is not only significant in the correct understanding of ancient western medicine and its appraisal, but also for the interpretation of traditional Chinese medicine as a reference.