Unani and Greco-Islamic medicine

Unani medicine — rooted in ancient Greek humoral theory and developed through centuries of Islamic scholarship and clinical practice — is a sophisticated healing system still practiced across South Asia, the Middle East, and parts of North Africa. Its framework of four humors and its emphasis on temperament, lifestyle, and an extensive herbal pharmacopeia produced a medical tradition that preserved and extended Greek medicine through the European medieval period. Understanding Unani helps trace the shared ancestry of both Eastern and Western medicine, and offers approaches to chronic imbalance and digestive health that remain clinically relevant.