A Review of Body Temperature from Avicenna to Modern Medicine

Maintaining a body core temperature within the range of ۳۶.۵ to ۳۸.۵°C is crucial for proper bodily functions. Avicenna’s Canon of Medicine emphasizes the role of temperament and humoral medicine, considering quadruple qualities including hotness, coldness, wetness, and dryness. This study delves into Avicenna’s viewpoints on body temperature, exploring the diagnostic and medical interventions based on Hekmat, an Islamic approach to humoral medicine. Avicenna’s work underscores the importance of innate heat (Hararat-e-gharizi) for maintaining life. The study compares different kinds of heat, distinguishing between innate heat essential for vitality and external factors leading to alien heat (Hararat-e-gharibeh) causing corruption/infection in the body. Avicenna’s insights align with modern thermoregulation concepts. The article discusses the role of core temperature in longevity, the impact of thyroid hormones, and the connection between body temperature and diseases. Avicenna’s emphasis on adhering to lifestyle rules and avoiding factors that diminish intrinsic heat echoes contemporary notions of health maintenance. Avicenna’s holistic approach to body temperature provides a unique perspective on health. Aligning traditional viewpoints with modern findings can contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the intricate relationship between body temperature and well-being.

کلیدواژه ها:

Avicenna ، Persian medicine ، Temperament ، Temperature ، Traditional medicine