Nebulous humors: defining alloantibodies in the 21st century.

摘要

When the Greek philosopher/physician Hippocrates first wrote these words approximately 24,000 years ago, the practice of science and medicine was largely the domain of mystics, charlatans, and magicians. The Greeks of Hippocrates's time became adept at observing and codifying outward symptoms of disease (calor, rubor, tumor, and dolor). The underlying cause for disease, however, was attributed to an "imbalance" in the four "humors," nebulous, ill-defined entities that were recalcitrant to systematic study. This is understandable, because it is only within the past century that the tools and technologies necessary to understand the molecular basis for disease have become available.