"Unani"
or "Yunani medicine is the term for Perso-Arabic traditional medicine as
practiced in Mughal India and in Muslim culture in South Asia and
modern day Central Asia The term Y?n?n? means
"Greek", as the Perso-Arabic system of medicine was based
on the teachings of the Greek physicians Hippocrates and Galen.
The
Hellenistic origin of Unani medicine is still visible in its being based on the
classical four humours: phlegm (balgham), blood (dam), yellow
bile (?afr?) and black bile (saud?'), but it has also been
influenced by Indian and Chinese traditional systems.
The Supreme
Court of India and Indian Medical Association regard unqualified
practitioners of Unani, Ayurveda and Siddha medicine as quackery. Practitioners
of alternative medicine, including those practicing Unani medicine, are
not authorized to practice medicine in India unless trained at a qualified
medical institution, registered with the government, and listed as physicians
annually in The Gazette of India. Identifying practitioners of Unani
medicine, the Supreme Court of India stated in 2018 that "unqualified,
untrained quacks are posing a great risk to the entire society and playing with
the lives of people without having the requisite training and education in the
science from approved institutions".
