Medicine Through TimeDiagram

The Four Humours Theory

Part of Medieval Ideas about Disease — GCSE History

This diagram covers The Four Humours Theory 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 2 of 12 in this topic. Focus on the labels, the relationships between parts, and the explanation that turns the diagram into an exam-ready answer.

Topic position

Section 2 of 12

Practice

8 questions

Recall

5 flashcards

📊 The Four Humours Theory

The theory that dominated medicine for 1,400 years — blood, phlegm, yellow bile, black bile

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.

Setting the Scene The Four Humours (Hippocrates & Galen)Other Medieval Beliefs Key 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

Name the Four Humours

Blood, Yellow Bile, Phlegm, Black Bile

What was miasma?

The belief that disease was caused by "bad air" or smells from rotting matter

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Setting the Scene

The Four Humours (Hippocrates & Galen)