Traditional Medicine Theory and Principles (Unani, Herbal, and Local Systems)
Core frameworks to know
Traditional systems are tested as coherent theoretical models, so learn their internal logic rather than judging them by biomedical standards. For Unani medicine, understand the concepts of the four humours (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, black bile), the four temperaments or qualities (hot, cold, wet, dry), the arkan (elements), mizaj (temperament/balance), and the role of the six essential factors (asbab-e-sitta zarooriya) - air, food and drink, movement and rest, sleep and wakefulness, evacuation and retention, and emotional states - in maintaining or disrupting health.
Herbal and local systems
Know that herbal traditions classify plants by qualities (hot/cold, moist/dry), by organ affinity, and by actions such as purgative, diuretic, diaphoretic, and tonic. Local Afghan practice draws on Greco-Arabic (Unani) and folk herbal knowledge, often using locally available plants; questions may ask you to identify the principle behind a practice rather than a specific recipe.
Traps
- Treating Unani terms as literal biomedical equivalents (e.g. 'black bile' is not the same as any single laboratory finding).
- Confusing temperament of a drug with temperament of a patient - prescribing requires matching them.
- Assuming all traditional systems share the same humour theory; they do not.
Rule of thumb
For Unani questions, apply the balance logic: what is the patient's temperament, what is the drug's temperament, and does the drug correct the imbalance? A hot, dry illness is treated with cold, moist remedies.
Worked example: A patient with a 'hot and dry' constitution presents with a hot, dry illness. The correct therapeutic principle is to prescribe a cold, moist (opposite-quality) remedy - matching the drug to the imbalance, not to the patient's baseline alone.