During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, health conditions were extraordinarily poor for European nations. Many different illnesses and ailments appeared to afflict these unfortunate people. Fortunately for them, they had their highly esteemed doctors, scholars, and highly “religious” clergy to “help” them get rid of their affliction. They offered solutions to suffering souls who were looking for answers and a cure. Many of these diseases were spread through prostitution, consumption of grain, animals, or excessive bodily humor. One might agree that medical education in this era was rare, if not non-existent. The most common disease in the Middle Ages was the four bodily humours. This physiological philosophy was initiated by Hippocrates, wrongly considered the father of medicine. As history goes, the ideas of the great physicians of ancient Greece were transmitted to Europeans by the Unani people. The four types of bodily humors are: black bile, yellow bile, phlegm and blood. The idea was that too much of any of these humors would upset the balance of a person's temperament. Moods were also associated with the four elements and seasons and have their own qualities. Yellow bile had the element of fire and the summer season, it is said to cause irritability and anger and is characterized as hot and dry. Too much phlegm or water would make one sluggish or lazy, its season is winter and it is said to be cold and damp. Black bile, having the element of earth and the season of autumn, is said to make one sad and melancholic and is characterized as cold and dry. Then there is phlegm, associated with the water element and the winter season. Having too much phlegm results in listlessness and is characterized as cold and damp. Finally, blood, like phlegm, this bodily humor is somewhat self-explanatory. Blood, with the element of air and the summer season, is believed to cause temperament and disposition and is characterized as, of course, hot and humid. This is also where the term “hot blood” comes from. These behavioral imbalances were treated with prescribed diet, exercise, and activities to purge the body of the imbalanced mood. For example, a person experiencing the symptoms of yellow bile (warm and dry) would be treated by increasing its opposite, phlegm (cold and moist). The patient was told to take cold baths until the symptoms subsided, but if this prescription did not work, he was told to take hellebore, a poison with side effects of vomiting and diarrhea...