PrepWisePrepWiseMedieval Ideas about Disease
Medicine Through TimeDeep Dive

The Four Humours (Hippocrates & Galen)

Part of Medieval Ideas about Disease — GCSE History

This deep dive covers The Four Humours (Hippocrates & Galen) within Medieval Ideas about Disease for GCSE History. Revise Medieval Ideas about Disease in Medicine Through Time for GCSE History with 8 exam-style questions and 5 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 3 of 12 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.

Topic position

Section 3 of 12

Practice

8 questions

Recall

5 flashcards

🧠 The Four Humours (Hippocrates & Galen)

The most important medieval theory came from ancient Greece. Hippocrates (c.460-370 BC) developed it; Galen (c.130-210 AD) expanded it. The idea: the body contains four "humours" (liquids), and illness happens when they're out of balance.

HumourElementQualitiesSeasonIf Too Much...
BloodAirHot & WetSpringBleeding to reduce it
Yellow BileFireHot & DrySummerPurging (laxatives)
PhlegmWaterCold & WetWinterAdvised to keep warm
Black BileEarthCold & DryAutumnPurging or bleeding

Keep building this topic

Read this section alongside the surrounding pages in Medieval Ideas about Disease. That gives you the full topic sequence instead of a single isolated revision point.

The Four Humours TheoryOther Medieval BeliefsSetting the SceneKey Evidence

Practice Questions for Medieval Ideas about Disease

According to the Four Humours theory, what caused illness?

  • A. Germs entering the body through the air
  • B. God punishing sinners for their wrongdoing
  • C. An imbalance of the four humours in the body
  • D. Evil spirits possessing the patient's blood
1 markfoundation

Why did Galen often make mistakes about human anatomy?

  • A. He lived before any scientific instruments had been invented
  • B. He based his human anatomy on dissecting animals, not human bodies
  • C. He refused to examine patients and only worked from books
  • D. He rejected the Four Humours theory used by other doctors
1 markfoundation

Quick Recall Flashcards

What was miasma?
The belief that disease was caused by "bad air" or smells from rotting matter
Name the Four Humours
Blood, Yellow Bile, Phlegm, Black Bile

Want to test your knowledge?

PrepWise has 8 exam-style questions and 5 flashcards for Medieval Ideas about Disease — with adaptive difficulty and instant feedback.

Join Alpha

Previous

The Four Humours Theory

Next

Other Medieval Beliefs