Humorism facts for kids

Diagram showing the 4 humors or body fluids as understood by ancient physicians

Humorism, or humoralism, was a system of medicine about the makeup and workings of the human body. It was a belief that too much or too little of any of four distinct body fluids in a person directly influenced their temperament and health. The humoralist system of medicine is highly individualistic. Each individual patient was made up of their own unique combination of humors.

It resembled an early holistic approach to medicine linking mental and physical processes. From Hippocrates onward, the humoral theory was adopted by Greek, Roman and Persian physicians. It became the most commonly held view of the human body among early physicians until the coming of modern medical research in the nineteenth century. It has not been used in medicine since then.

Images for kids

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  16th century illustration of the four humors: Flegmat (phlegm), Sanguin (blood), Coleric (yellow bile) and Melanc (black bile)

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  The four temperaments as depicted in an 18th-century woodcut: phlegmatic, choleric, sanguine and melancholic.

See also

In Spanish: Teoría de los cuatro humores para niños