Abstract

Background and objectives: In Unani Medicine, health is understood as the balance among four humors giving rise to a balanced temperament for the individual while illness represents a deviation from this moderation. Accurate diagnosis and treatment of disease require evaluation of the correct temperament of the individual with reference to normal or abnormal. In the case of abnormal temperament, it is necessary to know how much it has deviated from its normal state so that measures to correct it are taken accordingly. Traditionally, Unani Medicine determines temperament using ten variables: skin texture, hair characteristics, color, body size ratio, response to heat, cold, and dryness, speed of action, quality of excretions, sleep and wakefulness patterns, nervous state, and body composition. Of these, body size ratio and body composition (Laḥm wa Sḥam) are particularly significant in assessing an individual's temperament. This study aims to correlate the modern Heath-Carter method of somatotype determination with traditional Unani literature, providing a more precise assessment of body build and muscle mass than visual analysis alone.
Methodology: This study used random sampling to select 40 healthy male volunteers aged 18 to 35, with Choleric and Sanguine temperaments. Participants were selected through detailed history, physical examination, and a temperament-determining questionnaire based on Unani literature (Ajnās ‘Ashara). After informed consent, volunteers were categorized into Sanguine (Damvi Mizā) and Choleric (Ṣafrāvi Mizāj) groups. Standard anthropometric measurements were collected to determine somatotypes using the Heath-Carter Anthropometric Somatotype Method 1980.
Conclusion: The results suggest that individuals with the highest mesomorph, moderate ectomorph, and the lowest endomorph scores could be classified as having a Choleric temperament. In contrast, those with high mesomorph and moderate endomorph scores, indicating an average amount of body fat and not being overly thin, may be categorized as Sanguine. Thus, these findings could serve as indicators for identifying Choleric and Sanguine individuals based on their physical traits.

Key words: Temperament, Somatotype, Choleric, Sanguine, Unani medicine, Heath-Carter method