Medicine Atlas

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Humoral and Classical Medicine Practices

Pre-modern treatments and compounded remedies grounded in the humoral theory of disease or in the broader tradition of hand-mixed, patent-marketed cure-alls that preceded modern pharmacology, rather than in manual body work, water, energy claims or a discrete surgical operation. This includes the core humoral interventions used to expel or rebalance the body's four humors (bloodletting, purgative therapy, blistering therapy, cupping therapy, cauterization, leech therapy, hirudotherapy, autologous blood therapy, xenotransfusion, seton stitch, counterirritant, mustard bath, mustard plaster, poultice, powder of sympathy), the classical and medieval compounded panaceas and antidotes (theriac, mithridate, catholicon), the metal- and mineral-based historical pharmacotherapies later shown toxic or superseded (mercurial therapy, mercury treatment, Fowler's solution, chrysotherapy, kaolin and morphine), and the commercial patent medicines, tonics and remedy brands sold under exaggerated claims (patent medicine, snake oil, Radithor, lithia water, tar-water, Revalenta Arabica, Doktor Koster's Antigaspills, Klosterfrau Melissengeist, Tilden's Extract). A remedy whose defining claim rests on manual manipulation, water immersion, an energy or electrical force, or a discrete cutting operation is grouped instead under this atlas's other historical-practice groups even when it also involves a compound or a classical humoral rationale.

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historical-premodern 1
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Humoral and Classical Medicine Practices
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Autologous Blood Therapy

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Blistering Therapy

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Bloodletting

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice
7 links

Catholicon (Electuary)

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Cauterization

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice
2 links

Chrysotherapy

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice
1 link

Counterirritant

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice
1 link

Cupping Therapy

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice
7 links

Doktor Koster's Antigaspills

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Fowler's Solution

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Hirudotherapy

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Kaolin and morphine

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice
1 link

Klosterfrau Melissengeist

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Leech Therapy

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Lithia Water

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Mercurial Therapy

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice
1 link

Mercury Treatment

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Mithridate

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Mustard Bath

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Mustard Plaster

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Patent Medicine

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Poultice

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Powder of Sympathy

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Purgative Therapy

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Radithor

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Revalenta Arabica

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Seton Stitch

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Snake Oil

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Tar-water

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Theriac

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Tilden's Extract

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice

Xenotransfusion

Historical and Premodern Treatment Practice
1 link
Sources
1. Humorism (Wikipedia)
Wikipedialead paragraph
Quote, lead paragraph
Humorism, the humoral theory, or humoralism, was a system of medicine detailing a supposed makeup and workings of the human body, adopted by Ancient Greek and Roman physicians and philosophers.
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