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GCSE History · key term
Galen’s approach to treatment: use qualities opposite to those associated with the humour believed to be causing illness.
Used by AQA and Edexcel
Paper 2
Revise: Medieval MedicineGalen developed the humoral approach through his Theory of Opposites. If illness resulted from an excess of a humour associated with particular qualities, treatment should provide the opposite qualities to restore balance.
Paper 1
Galen’s approach to restoring the balance of the humours by using treatments with opposite qualities, such as hot treatment for an excess of a cold humour.
Revise: Ideas About the Cause of DiseaseGalen was an ancient Roman physician who developed the Four Humours theory. His Theory of Opposites linked the explanation of illness to treatment: an excess of a humour should be counteracted with opposite qualities. For example, excess phlegm was associated with coldness, so a hot food such as pepper was thought to help.
Distinguish Hippocrates’ explanation of illness—the Four Humours—from Galen’s Theory of Opposites, which guided treatment.
Distinguish the Four Humours, which explained the cause of illness, from Galen’s Theory of Opposites, which guided treatment.
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