Reviving Humoral Medicine
with Dr. Hani El Batal
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🌐 English version available — Click “English” | الموقع متوفر باللغة الإنجليزية
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On this page, we answer the most frequently asked questions about humoral medicine to help you understand its principles and how to apply them in your daily life to maintain your physical and mental well-being.
Frequently Asked Questions About Humoral Medicine
Dr. Hani's clinic is in Lebanon, but consultations can also be done online for those outside Lebanon.
Where is Dr. Hani's clinic located?
Dr. Hani's clinic is located in Lebanon, but online consultations are also available for patients outside Lebanon.
Where is Dr. Hani’s clinic located?
A doctor is someone who has mastered the principles of humoral medicine, including the four qualities, the temperaments, the humors, and related disciplines such as pulse diagnosis, the examination of urine and stool, anatomy, the functions of the organs, and the diagnosis and treatment of specific diseases based on their causes, signs, and symptoms. A doctor also understands the properties and temperaments of medicines—whether they are hot, cold, wet, or dry.
A doctor carefully examines the patient's symptoms and signs, along with the pulse, urine, stool, and other clinical findings, in order to determine the underlying cause of the illness before prescribing treatment. Healing ultimately comes from Allah.
By contrast, a herbalist—someone who gathers and sells medicinal herbs—does not necessarily possess this medical knowledge. Such a person may not understand the principles of medicine, distinguish between the temperaments of diseases and remedies, or evaluate the patient's causes, signs, symptoms, pulse, urine, stool, and other clinical findings. Instead, treatment may be based on guesswork, resulting in frequent errors and only occasional success.
According to the traditional humoral medical perspective, this can cause considerable harm to both patients and the reputation of humoral medicine itself, because people may mistakenly assume that the herbalist represents the discipline, whereas, in this view, humoral medicine is not responsible for practices that are not based on its established medical principles
How can I distinguish a doctor from a herbalist?
Your temperament is determined through a consultation with a doctor who specializes in humoral medicine and is well versed in its foundational principles, including the four qualities, the temperaments, the humors, pulse diagnosis, the examination of urine and stool, anatomy, the functions of the organs, and the causes, signs, and treatment of diseases.
The doctor evaluates your symptoms and clinical signs and examines your pulse, urine, stool, and other relevant findings to identify the underlying cause of your condition. Based on this assessment, the docor determines your temperament and prescribes the appropriate treatment. Healing ultimately comes from Allah.
How can I determine my temperament?
The term humor (khilṭ) in the terminology of classical doctors refers to a wet flowing bodily substance. Accordingly, the body's fluids are called the humors, and they are four:
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Blood (Dam): hot and wet.
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Phlegm (Balgham): cold and wet.
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Yellow bile (Ṣafrā'): hot and dry.
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Black bile (Sawdā'): cold and dry.
Why is it called Humoral Medicine?
According to its traditional understanding, the foundations of humoral medicine originate from divine revelation. It is regarded as a well-established and robust system of medicine, giving people confidence in seeking treatment through its principles.
Its proponents believe that it is an effective and successful approach to healing, one that has demonstrated remarkable success over thousands of years.