humoralism


humoralism

(ˈhjuːmərəˌlɪzəm) n (Anatomy) a theory of the composition and workings of the human body, based on the idea that it was filled with four basic substances, or humours, adopted by Greek and Roman physicians and philosophers.

humoralism, humouralism

an obsolete physiological explanation of health, disease, and behavior, asserting that the relative proportions of four elemental bodily fluids or humors (blood-sanguinity, phlegm-sluggishness, black bile-melancholy, and yellow bile-choler) determined a person’s physical and mental constitution. — humoral, humoural, adj.See also: Behavior