Lincoln telegraph. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1836-1846, 1841-06-17
MEDICAL.
FOR THE TELEGRAPH,
HU,IORS OF THE BLOOD.


The doctrine of the Humors of the Blood may
be attributed to Galen, who was born at Perga-
mus, in Asia Minor, ] 81 years after the birth OF
Christ He was the follower in many respects
of fIippocrates, whom the world has justly cog
nominated " the father of ply sic, and whose DOC
,rines he thought succeeding physicians had
understood or misrepre scented; and in defence Oh
which, he displayed great acuteness and learn
ing, though it is apparent at the present t'mf nc
has not much increased the stock of practical IN
formation.
Although at the age Of % he met with dst'n-
ruished success in practice, yet his metaphysical
subtleties relating to the union between the eie-
ments and the four cardinal humors, had the ell
feet of introducing a taste for minute dlstlnc-
lions and abstract speculatons, while the more
dilgent observations which distinguished the Ia
Their of physic," fell into neglect From the year
1880, therefore, the splendor of Galen's tai
ents so completely dazzed his successors, that,
until the middle of the 18th century, or '2o years
after the discovery of the circulation of the blood
ky Sir William Harvey, his opinions bore almost
undivided sway.
The cardinal humors Galen reduced to four
the blood, phlegm, yellow and black blle,-and
this nomenclature was rigidly adopted by his an
cient followers.
What classification modern humorsts have ilx-
ed upon, who attribute all diseases to depraved
state of the humors, or to vicious Juices collected
in the body, we have not in our researches been
able to ascertain. Doubtless they are not with
out some sort of speculatons in this respect
specuiutions which mast necessarily inyolFe a
theory of fuidism exclusively, without the least
consideration as to the important part which the
solids play in the functions of man, or OF the u
tnl principle itself, from which both solids and
fluids have their beginning, existence and cnd'
;adenendent of nervous influence, or the laws
which govern and control organized and morgan
lied matter.
Wha.eycr, therefore, may be such theory, it
canot have the least foundation in truth-for, any
departure from healthy standard, and humors
of the biosd must be considered as such, is MOTH
inc more nor less than diseased condition pri-
marily CONNIE ncing with the vital PrRciple' and
the arrangement of the nervous, vascular. and
,old systems, is but the result and mol the cause
Of such disturbance.
!fthen the position assumed be true and the
r,a,on Of man, and not his unqualified assertion
decides tbatit is,-the ancient and modern dog
mas offiuidsm and hamors is but bug-bear, a
eatch-penny trap, proPagated by the yerlest ty'
ros of auackery and monstrosty. Nay, it con-
.ists in moonshine- nonsense, to gull the igno
rant and superstitious,-as much so, indeed as
the doctrine of" knowing the constitution, which
venerable practitioners are too apt to use to the
prejudice of young practitioners, and when
if probed to the bottom. would be found to pos
se,s no other truth in it, ethan that man may
have good or bad constitution, when he is in
good health, or frequently liable to disease
doctrine, which the young practitioner is as wei
yersed in, if well educated and observing, as the
old practitioner, who prdes himself upon expert
encc, which nine times in ten has cost him nei
ther toll, study, reflection, in its attainment
Grant that the human body is chiefly com
posed of fluids That it is thus constituted We
believe to be true, for, if human experiments
can be trusted, we know that if the dead body o.
man weighing 100 pounds, be thoroughly driet
in an oven, the remains will not be found t.
weigh more than IL or 10 pounds so that the
proportion of fluids to solids is about or 10 to
Does Tbs preponderate in favor Of the doctrine o
fluids and humors? We shall sec.
First then, all the fluids of the human body are
aot blood, neither is all the blood yauid In the
latter exists watery, supernatant fluid, and ,
thick part or clot, which is a solid in its charac
ter. And though other fluids originate directly
from the blood yet this result is from the actor
of the vital principle alone, which as much be
longs to the blood, and upon which the vitality
and existence of that fluid depends, as does tina
of other constituent parts Of the living body. Th
blood again differs essentially in its properties an,
vitality. The nourishing portion being arterial
and the remaining portion which does not tend t,
Abe development and growth of the body, bein.
yenous
The circulating blood, arterial and venous, i,