Galenic

Galenic refers to things related to Claudius Galenus, usually known in English as Galen, a Greek physician active in the 2nd century CE. Galenic medicine became the cornerstone of Western medical theory for many centuries, shaping ideas about anatomy, physiology, and disease.

In Galenic theory, the body was governed by four humors—blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile—whose balance determined health and temperament. Disease was viewed as an imbalance or disruption of these humors or of the body's natural heat and moisture. Therapeutic aims included rebalancing humors through diet, lifestyle, and medicines, often chosen for their perceived inherent qualities of hot, cold, moist, and dry.

The term galenic also designates the art and science of preparing medicines, known as galenics or galenic pharmacy. This involves compounding drugs into usable dosage forms such as pills, powders, tinctures, syrups, ointments, and decoctions, using ingredients from plants, minerals, and animal sources. Formulations were guided by Galenic theory and later by medieval and Renaissance pharmacopoeias.

With the rise of modern pharmacology and chemistry in the 17th–19th centuries, Galenism declined as a comprehensive medical doctrine, though its terminology and methods persisted in historical accounts and in the naming of galenical preparations. In contemporary usage, galenic may refer to traditional methods of drug preparation or to historical aspects of pharmacology.