Humorism is a theory that is used to demonstrate the way the human body functions. It was founded by the Roman and Greek physicians who said that if the human body experienced a deficiency of the four major body fluids, the health and temperament of a person would deteriorate. The theory was initially applied by the Greeks, Europeans, and Arabs before being adopted in other parts of the world (Singer and Erickson 23).
Today, many anthropologists argue that humoral medicine is a very essential ethnomedical process in Latin America. This theory has been adopted by physicians until recently when modern research in medicine has overtaken it. The humoral medicine concept was in broad use in North America and Europe during the 19th century (Foster 359). There are various medicine advocates today who are still using the concept of humoral medicine because they regard it as a mechanism that can assist them in critically understanding how the human body operates.
The various body fluids that significantly influence how the human body operates include yellow bile, phlegm, black pile, and blood. These fluids are also referred to as humor and each humor is unique in its way. For example, the yellow bile is dry and hot, blood is hot and wet, phlegm is wet and cold, and the black pile is dry and cold (Foster 378). However, the uniqueness of these fluids does not in any way influence the humidity and temperature of the human body. The various organs that work hand in hand with the humoral fluids to stimulate the functioning of the human body include the liver, spleen, lungs, brain, and gall bladder (Foster 362). These organs are said to contain the same complexion just like the humor that is associated with them.
Different kinds of illnesses and medicines also differ in their complexions thereby forcing medical experts in Latin America to come up with mechanisms that would enable them to cure any illnesses that result from complexion imbalance. For example, any hot illness deserves to be cured using cold therapy.
In addition, an ankle that is sprained is treated as a cold injury and should therefore be treated using a hot material. There are also those people who normally have excess moisture and heat in their bodies (Foster 370). To lessen this imbalance, the easiest option would be to suction cuts on them deliberately. There are also certain types of food that different Latin Americans use to help them reinstate balance in their bodies. If a person happens to consume a cold poisonous mushroom, he can be treated using hot stuff such as toasted garlic (Singer and Erickson 54).
The application of humoral medicine in Latin America is a complicated process. This is because experts argue that the complexion of fluids or organs can change drastically at different times of the day. For example, if a person consumes a cold orange in the evening when his body is very hot, that person can experience a shock because of the imbalance that the cold orange would cause to his body. Many Latin Americans are still making use of the humoral medicine concept (Foster 365).
This has been demonstrated by how different kinds of medicines and foods have been associated with unique complexions. Internet and cellphone usage are also being identified with specific complexions (Singer and Erickson 56). It is therefore true that Humoral Medicine practice is still a relevant practice in the modern world even though it was founded centuries ago.
Works Cited
Foster, George M. “On the Origin of Humoral Medicine in Latin America.” Medical Anthropology Quarterly 1.4 (1987): 355-393. Jstor. Web.
Singer, Merrill and Pamela Erickson. A Companion to Medical Anthropology. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Print.