The Concept of Temperaments in Traditional Persian Medicine

Abstract

Temperament is a key concept in comprehending the fundamentals of traditional medicine, based on which individuals are classified as healthy and ill. This principle plays an important role in determining ways to maintain good health and also in treating diseases. Recently receiving increasing attention in conventional medicine, the trend has progressed towards treating the individual rather than the illness in general. Accordingly, studies have been conducted to investigate the relationship between temperament and proteomes in the human body. This article is an attempt to review the definition and classification of temperament, its modifying factors, and categorization of dystemperaments as discussed in Traditional Persian Medicine references. Clarifying this concept has a vital role in health recognition and maintenance, treatment of diseases as well as in traditional medicine studies.

Keywords

• Temperament
• Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM)
• Avicenna
• Mizaj
• Blood Production and Distribution Doctrine