title: [Ideas on the mode of action and on the specificity of medicines between antiquity and early modern times].
abstract: The paper focuses on the modes of action, which medical authors ascribe to medicines, between antiquity and early modern times, mainly on those modes that are described in a sufficiently clear way and are, moreover, based on some fairly general principles. It is proposed that there are four main types of such modes of action: a) by neutralizing opposite qualities, b) by eliminating ("purging") excessive or abnormal humours (or materia peccans), c) by directly attacking the disease entity, d) by acting on (and "normalizing") the "vital principle". For each of these types, the principal characteristics as well as some major variations are presented, with reference to representative authors and texts. It is moreover attempted to determine the extent to which ideas about the specific action of medicines emerge within each of these types and to outline the particular variations these ideas acquire.
authors.affiliation: gpapad@med.uoa.gr
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Papadopoulos
mesh_terms: D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000266:history*; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D010811:Natural Science Disciplines / Q000266:history; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000266:history; D010600:Pharmacology / Q000266:history*
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations