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One of the original four humors, black bile was once thought to play a critical role in human health.
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Piece Description
One of the original four humors, black bile was once thought to play a critical role in human health.
Broadcast History
Distributed as podcast 1/08.
Transcript
Today?s element can?t be found on the periodic table. In fact, it?s hard to identify it as an element at all. But just as carbon and oxygen are now considered building blocks of all organic matter ? this substance was once considered a basic building block of the human body.
Black bile was one of the four humors ? along with yellow bile, phlegm, and blood. The balance of these four elements in the body was believed not only to determine a person?s health, but their personality as well. The theory, known as humorism, was first popularized by Hippocrates and was used consistently in Western medical practice until well into the 19th century.
Each humor had a different quality and was associated with a different season. Black bile was an autumn humor, cold and dry, represented by the spleen. An excess of black bile was thought to cause sleeplessness, irritability, and despondency ? or...
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