Bridging ancient wisdom and contemporary medical science: Contemplating on Hippocrates' <em>Theory of Humours</em>

Lempesis,Ioannis G.; Georgakopoulou,Vasiliki Epameinondas; Chrousos,Georgios P.; Spandidos,Demetrios A.

doi:10.3892/wasj.2024.233

March-April 2024 Volume 6 Issue 2

Full Size Image

Journals

International Journal of Molecular Medicine

International Journal of Molecular Medicine is an international journal devoted to molecular mechanisms of human disease.

International Journal of Oncology

International Journal of Oncology is an international journal devoted to oncology research and cancer treatment.

Molecular Medicine Reports

Covers molecular medicine topics such as pharmacology, pathology, genetics, neuroscience, infectious diseases, molecular cardiology, and molecular surgery.

Oncology Reports

Oncology Reports is an international journal devoted to fundamental and applied research in Oncology.

Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine

Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine is an international journal devoted to laboratory and clinical medicine.

Oncology Letters

Oncology Letters is an international journal devoted to Experimental and Clinical Oncology.

Biomedical Reports

Explores a wide range of biological and medical fields, including pharmacology, genetics, microbiology, neuroscience, and molecular cardiology.

Molecular and Clinical Oncology

International journal addressing all aspects of oncology research, from tumorigenesis and oncogenes to chemotherapy and metastasis.

World Academy of Sciences Journal

Multidisciplinary open-access journal spanning biochemistry, genetics, neuroscience, environmental health, and synthetic biology.

International Journal of Functional Nutrition

Open-access journal combining biochemistry, pharmacology, immunology, and genetics to advance health through functional nutrition.

International Journal of Epigenetics

Publishes open-access research on using epigenetics to advance understanding and treatment of human disease.

Medicine International

An International Open Access Journal Devoted to General Medicine.

March-April 2024 Volume 6 Issue 2

Full Size Image

Opinion Open Access

Bridging ancient wisdom and contemporary medical science: Contemplating on Hippocrates' Theory of Humours

Authors:
- Ioannis G. Lempesis
- Vasiliki Epameinondas Georgakopoulou
- Georgios P. Chrousos
- Demetrios A. Spandidos
View Affiliations / Copyright

Affiliations: Department of Pathophysiology, Laiko General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece, Clinical, Translational and Experimental Surgery Research Centre, Biomedical Research Foundation Academy of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece, Laboratory of Clinical Virology, School of Medicine, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece

Copyright: © Lempesis et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License [CC BY 4.0].
Article Number: 18
|
Published online on: February 29, 2024

https://doi.org/10.3892/wasj.2024.233
Expand metrics +

Abstract

Ancient Greek medicine, influenced by religion, attributed disease to divine forces and developed treatments based on faith and the placebo phenomenon. Ancient Greek Medicine, beginning with Hippocrates, was influenced by the pre‑Socratic natural philosophers and was based solely on evidence and the use of reason. Hippocrates employed the doctrine of the four humours, which corresponded to the elements ‘fire’, ‘air’, ‘earth’ and ‘water’, to understand and explain disease and traditional drug action. This system foreshadowed the endocrine and biochemical aspects of human physiology and pathophysiology, and used the homeostatic concepts to explain health as ‘eucrasia’ (good mixing) and disease as ‘dyscrasia’ (bad mixing) of the humours. Modern hyper‑specialized, precision medicine and hyper‑compartmentalized science can still benefit from revisiting ancient wisdom towards a holistic approach, to achieve the ‘golden mean’ in the consideration of health and disease.

View Figures

View References

1	Bujalkova M, Straka S and Jureckova A: Hippocrates' humoral pathology in nowaday's reflections. Bratisl Lek Listy. 102:489–492. 2001.PubMed/NCBI
2	Garrison FH: An introduction to the history of medicine: with medical chronology, suggestions for study and bibliographic data. 3rd Edition. W.B. Saunders company, Philadelphia, PA, 1922.
3	Hashmi JA: Placebo Effect: Theory, Mechanisms and Teleological Roots. Int Rev Neurobiol. 139:233–253. 2018.PubMed/NCBI View Article : Google Scholar
4	Marcum JA: Hippocrates and the Hippocratic Tradition: Impact and Development of Medical Knowledge and Practice? In: Handbook of Philosophy of Medicine. Schramme T and Edwards S (eds). Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht, pp821-837, 2017.
5	Chrousos GP: Stress and disorders of the stress system. Nature reviews. Endocrinology. 5:374–381. 2009.PubMed/NCBI View Article : Google Scholar
6	Lempesis IG, Georgakopoulou VE, Papalexis P, Chrousos GP and Spandidos DA: Role of stress in the pathogenesis of cancer (Review). Int J Oncol. 63(124)2023.PubMed/NCBI View Article : Google Scholar
7	Mravec B, Tibensky M and Horvathova L: Stress and cancer. Part I: Mechanisms mediating the effect of stressors on cancer. J Neuroimmunol. 346(577311)2020.PubMed/NCBI View Article : Google Scholar
8	Jackson SW: Melancholia in Ancient Greece and Rome. In: Melancholia and Depression. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, pp29-45, 1986.
9	Burton R: The anatomy of melancholy. JW Moore, Philadelphia, PA, 1857.
10	van den Tweel JG and Taylor CR: A brief history of pathology: Preface to a forthcoming series that highlights milestones in the evolution of pathology as a discipline. Virchows Arch. 457:3–10. 2010.PubMed/NCBI View Article : Google Scholar
11	Chrousos GP and Gold PW: The concepts of stress and stress system disorders: overview of physical and behavioral homeostasis. Jama. 267:1244–1252. 1992.PubMed/NCBI
12	Charmandari E, Tsigos C and Chrousos G: Neuroendocrinology of stress. Ann Rev Physiol. 67:259–284. 2005.PubMed/NCBI View Article : Google Scholar
13	Agorastos A and Chrousos GP: The neuroendocrinology of stress: the stress-related continuum of chronic disease development. Mol Psychiatry. 27:502–513. 2022.PubMed/NCBI View Article : Google Scholar
14	Stefanaki C, Pervanidou P, Boschiero D and Chrousos GP: Chronic stress and body composition disorders: implications for health and disease. Hormones (Athens). 17:33–43. 2018.PubMed/NCBI View Article : Google Scholar
15	Franchimont D, Kino T, Galon J, Meduri GU and Chrousos G: Glucocorticoids and inflammation revisited: the state of the art. NIH clinical staff conference. Neuroimmunomodulation. 10:247–260. 2003.PubMed/NCBI View Article : Google Scholar
16	Chrousos GP, McCarty R, Pacak K, Cizza G, Sternberg E, Gold PW and Kvetnansky R: Stress: Basic mechanisms and clinical implications. Ann NY Acad Sci. 771:192–203. 1995.
17	Chrousos GP: The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and immune-mediated inflammation. N Engl J Med. 332:1351–1363. 1995.PubMed/NCBI View Article : Google Scholar
18	Bærøe K: Medicine as Art and Science. In: Handbook of the Philosophy of Medicine. Schramme T and Edwards S (eds). Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht, pp1-14, 2015.
19	Loukas M, Tubbs RS, Louis RG Jr..Pinyard J, Vaid S and Curry B: The cardiovascular system in the pre-Hippocratic era. Int J Cardiol. 120:145–149. 2007.PubMed/NCBI View Article : Google Scholar