Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: The four humors

  • Aristotle and the four humors

    Aristotle is one of the greatest philosophers of all time. He has influenced human thought for almost 2500 years and many of his works are as relevant today as they were in the days of ancient Greece. Students of his philosophical works are likely to be familiar with his Nicomachean Ethics, Politics, Rhetoric, and Poetics,…

  • The changing role of the patient in medical practice

    Katrin Platzer United Kingdom   Introduction   Fig. 1 – The four humors, 17th century Centerpiece of Galen’s medical theory Charles Le Brun   Over the past 200 years, the practice of medicine has changed dramatically. It can be said that until the end of the 18th century most of medicine was based on scant…