Hippocratic Method and the Four Humors in Medicine

When todays doctors prescribe an antibiotic to fight infection, they are trying to put the patients body back in balance. While the drugs and medical explanation may be new, this art of equilibrium has been practiced since  Hippocrates day.   I do anatomize and cut up these poor beasts, he said to Hippocrates, to see the cause of these distempers, vanities, and follies, which are the burden of all creatures.- Democritus - The History of Melancholy Humors Corresponding With  the Seasons and Elements In the Hippocratic corpus (believed not to be the work of a single man of that name) disease was thought to be caused by isonomia, the preponderance of one of the four bodily humors: Yellow BileBlack BilePhlegmBlood Four humors matched the four seasons: Autumn: black bileSpring: bloodWinter: phlegmSummer: yellow bile Each of the humors was  associated with one of the four equal and universal elements: EarthAirFireWater Posited by Empedocles: Aristotle, who used the image of wine to expose the nature of black bile. Black bile, just like the juice of grapes, contains pneuma, which provokes hypochondriac diseases like melancholia. Black bile like wine is prone to ferment and produce an alternation of depression and anger...-From Linets The History of Melancholy Earth corresponds with  black bile.  Too much earth made one  melancholic.Air corresponds with blood. Too much air,  sanguine.Fire  corresponds with  yellow bile.  Too much fire,  choleric.Water  corresponds with  phlegm.  Too much water,  phlegmatic. Finally, each element/humor/season was associated with certain qualities. Thus yellow bile was thought of as hot and dry. Its opposite, phlegm (the mucus of colds), was cold and moist. Black Bile was cold and dry, while its opposite, blood was hot and moist. Black Bile: Cold and DryBlood: Hot and MoistPhlegm: Cold and MoistYellow Bile: Hot and Dry As a first step, the prudent Hippocratic physician would prescribe a regimen of diet, activity, and exercise, designed to void the body of the imbalanced humor. According to Gary Lindquesters History of Human Disease,  if it was a fever--a hot, dry disease--the culprit was yellow bile. So, the doctor would try to increase its opposite, phlegm, by prescribing cold baths. If the opposite situation prevailed (as in a cold), where there were obvious symptoms of excess phlegm production, the regimen would be to bundle up in bed and drink wine. Resorting to Drugs If the regimen didnt work the next course would be with drugs, often hellebore, a potent poison that would cause vomiting and diarrhea, signs the imbalanced humor was eliminated. Observation of Anatomy We might assume such Hippocratic ideas sprang from speculation rather than experimentation, but observation played a key role. Furthermore, it would be simplistic to say ancient Greco-Roman doctors never practiced human dissection. If nothing else, doctors had anatomical experience dealing with war wounds. But especially during the Hellenistic period, there was extensive contact with the Egyptians whose embalming techniques involved removing bodily organs. In the third century, B.C. vivisection was permitted in Alexandria where living criminals may have been put to the knife. Still, we believe Hippocrates, Aristotle, and Galen, among others, only dissected animal bodies, not human. So mans internal structure was known primarily through analogy with animals, inferences from the externally visible structures, from natural philosophy, and from function. Evaluating the Humoral Theory Such ideas might seem far-fetched today, but Hippocratic medicine was a great advance over the supernatural model that had preceded it. Even if individuals had understood enough about contagion to realize rodents were involved somehow, it was still the Homeric Apollo, the mouse god, who caused it. The Hippocratic etiology based on nature permitted diagnosis and treatment of symptoms with something other than prayer and sacrifice. Besides, we rely on similar analogies today, in Jungian personality types and ayurvedic medicine, to name two. These men demonstrated that when the nutriment becomes altered in the veins by the innate heat, blood is produced when it is in moderation, and the other humours when it is not in proper proportion.-Galen, On the Natural Faculties Bk II Black Bile Cold and Dry Too much earth Melancholic Autumn Blood Hot and Moist Too much air Sanguine Sping Phlegm Cold and Moist Too much water Phlegmatic Winter Yellow Bile Hot and Dry Too much fire Choleric Summer S​ources   www.umich.edu/~iinet/journal/vol2no2/v2n2_The_History_of_Melancholy.html  Ã‚  www.astro.virginia.edu/~eww6n/bios/HippocratesofCos.html]www.med.virginia.edu/hs-library/historical/antiqua/textn.htm accessedviator.ucs.indiana.edu/~ancmed/foundations.htm]  www.med.virginia.edu/hs-library/historical/antiqua/stexta.htmwww.med.virginia.edu/hs-library/historical/antiqua/stexta.htm

The United States And Soviet Union Essay - 1654 Words

The 1980’s were a dynamic time in the life cycle of the Cold War. The early portion of this decade, which saw massive shifts in the administrations of the United States and Soviet Union, maintained an atmosphere of suspicion, wariness, and skepticism. This theme of uncertainty and caution was the logical product of decades of both American and Soviet duplicity, confrontation, and militarization. Yet, despite this mistrust between the polar Cold War belligerents, and contrary to the early rhetoric of the Reagan administration, the United States and Soviet Union modified their perceptions of each other’s intentions following 1985’s Reykjavik Summit, which, despite producing no tangible results, established common desire for arms reduction and a conclusion of the Cold War. This warming of relations, however, increased at a gradual rate and encountered significant hurdles as the two nations attempted to limit the potential for thermonuclear war. 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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Sir Gawain Green K Essay Example For Students

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Sir Gawain Green K Essay night Essays Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a Middle English romance poem similar to the three seductions of Gawain. Bercilak and Gawain made a bargain at the castle. Bercilak said Whatever I earn in the woods will be yours, whatever you win will be mine in exchange. (Gawain 81) The Green Knight tells Gawain that he was sent by Morgana Le Fay because she wanted to test Gawains pride and determine the truth of the Round Tables fame, and the tales that tell of it. (Gawain 123) During Bercilaks first hunt, they hunted deer. The hunters were on one side with the peasants and dogs on the other, surrounding the deer. The peasants and dogs made noise and cashed the deer towards the hunters. The hunters slaughtered them as they came near. In Gawians bedroom, Bercilaks wife came into his room and tried to seduce him. She came in and locked the door trapping him in the room. Gawian was trapped like the deer were trapped in the forest. Gawian used words to talk his way out the situation, but before she left she gave him a kiss. On the second hunt, they found a boar and trapped it on a mountain. The boar attacked and fought back aggressively. Bercilak faced it one on one and killed it. In Gawains bedroom, Bercilaks wife made another pass at him. This time she was more aggressive. The hunters used the same tactic on the boar as Bercilaks wife used on Gawain. She tried to wear him down, but it had no used because Gawain still put out. She gave him two kisses before she left his room. For the third hunt Bercilak tracked a fox. The fox was sly and clever and he chased it all over. Bercilak swung at it and it swerved and ran into the dogs. The dogs killed it. Bercilaks wife tried to be sly like a fox on her third attempt to seduce Gawain. After failing to seduce Gawain, Bercilaks wife tried to give him something to make him break his word. First she offered to give him a ring, which he refused. Then, she offered a magical scarf which he accepted. The two different situations paralleled each other in symbolism. Bercilak hunted the animals like his wife hunted Gawain. The whole experience was only a test for Gawain and he managed to pass except for taking the scarf and breaking his word. .

The foreign policy of the United States

Introduction The post-Second World War United States of America had a different face from the one that existed during the First World War. The United States’ foreign policy moved from isolationism to interventionism after World War II. Therefore, this paper examines the changes in America’s foreign policy after the World War II. It also examines Kennan’s long Telegram and how the United States may implement the suggestions.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The foreign policy of the United States specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More How United States’ foreign policy changed after World War II Before the Second World War, the United States of America practiced the policy of isolationism (Chandler Write, 2001); isolationism can be defined as the state policy of shunning economic or political conflicts with other nations of the world. Isolationism was the basis on which the United Statesâ€⠄¢ foreign policy was formulated before World War II. This was because the United States did not want to get involved in any form of war in case there would be an outbreak of another widespread conflict. Besides, it never wanted to be involved in any war and would do everything to thwart it while trying to remain neutral. Many individuals in the Congress and other influential personalities supported the isolationist approach to foreign policy. They established the Neutrality Act to penalize the other nations that were at war with one another (Dornbush, 2009). The experience of the United States during the Second World War completely changed the government’s attitude toward isolationism policy approach. It realized that for it to be safe from potential aggression, it needed to have strong allies. This prompted the United States to start lending its support to the Great Britain. In fact, the United States’ isolationism policy was put to test when Japan attacked the Pearl Harbor. This prompted the government to revise its stand on isolationism approach to foreign policy and hence embraced interventionism one. The United States realized that it was not safe from war and therefore needed to build alliances with potential allies. The United States’ shift in foreign policy approach was immediately witnessed when the government readily agreed to host the headquarters of the United Nations within its territories after its formation. The United Nations was formed to champion the interests of all member states. Besides, the United States also joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. After the Second World War the United States realized that it could not remain safe by keeping to pursuing only its interests, but by collaborating with other allies to defend their common interests (Chandler Write, 2001). The realist approach by President Nixon in late 1960s and President Carter’s idealist approach of late 1970s President Nixon’s rea list approach had the assumption that a nation state was actually the principle actor in the politics of the world. Furthermore, realist approach assumed that power was the definite driving force in politics.Advertising Looking for essay on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The approach posited that the quality of a relationship between one state and another was the principle factor that shaped or modeled how a given state should respond to any of the other states. According to the realist approach, issues that were social and economic in nature were also equally crucial as those of the military (McCrmick, 2009). President Carter deviated from the President Nixon’s realist approach. Contrary to President Nixon’s realist policy approach, President Carter’s idealist approach placed more emphases on domestic affairs with reference to foreign policy. His key policy areas included the enhancement of r elations with key American allies and placing less emphasis on the then Soviet Union as the main focus for the policy of the United States of America and the support of the global human rights (Soper, 2007). While Nixon’s realist approach mainly focused on American interests outside the territory Carter’s idealist approach principally focused on the significance of domestic values. President Carter believed that the United States could be strong internationally only when it was strong back at home. Therefore, contrasting the two policy approaches, realist approach gave the suggestion that the nature of human or the structure established in reference to the international system influenced the behavior of the state whereas the idealist approach was grounded on the belief that governments of states obtained their legitimacy from the people being governed (Copson, 2007). Kennan’s objective in his long Telegram and how the United States may carry out the policy he su ggests In his long Telegram, George Kennan focused on three areas; he focused on the primary motivating factors in the foreign policy of Soviet and also the ideological and historical background of international relations as perceived by the Soviet during the postwar period. He also focused on the attainment of the Soviet foreign policy and the broad repercussion it would have for the United States of America. In his Telegram, Kennan argued that the policy of Soviet principally targeted giving strength to the relative USSR’s policy within the international environment (Miscamble, 1993).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The foreign policy of the United States specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Kennan, in his long Telegram, argued that rulers of Soviet vowed to achieve their goals and objectives by leaving nothing to chance. This included destroying perceived enemies. He further stated that Soviet rulers were ready to use both direct and indirect means to infiltrate the economic, moral and or political structures of the western states by taking advantage of the perceived contradictions that existed within the structure of capitalism. They believed that with the stability of the United States, Soviet could not be secure. Therefore, the Soviet rulers emphasized that the American social, political and economic structure had to be dismantled to ensure such security (Kim, 2010). In this case, the United States should enforce Kennan’s recommendation that it should stop the Soviet expansion. He suggested that the United States should not use force or any form of military actions to stop the Soviet from influencing it negatively. The United States should increase its diplomatic relations with the Soviet rulers and solve the underlying problems amicably. Besides, the United States should have a policy specifically dedicated to dealing with Soviet as an entity. This should be geared toward increasing diplomatic relations. Conclusion The foreign policy of the United States changed from isolationism to interventionism after the World War II. Besides, the United States needed to come up with specific policies on Soviet so as to thwart its efforts to frustrate the United States; this was one of the suggestions in Kennan’s long Telegram (Kim, 2010). References Chandler, C. Write, J. (2001). Modern world history for Edexcel specification A.: Core. New York: Heinemann. Copson, R. (2007). The United States in Africa: Bush policy and beyond. London: Zed Books.Advertising Looking for essay on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Dornbush, K. (2009). Kaplan AP U.S. History. New York: Kaplan Publishing. Kim, J. (2010). Ends of empire: Asian American critique and the Cold War. Minnesota: U of Minnesota Press. McCrmick, J. (2009). American Foreign Policy and Process. New York: Cengage Learning. Miscamble, W. (1993). George F. Kennan and the Making of American Foreign Policy, 1947-1950. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Soper, P. (2007). The politics of American light armor development from post-Vietnam to post-cold war. New York: ProQuest. This essay on The foreign policy of the United States was written and submitted by user Amanda Sefton to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.