Unani Tibb is a system of traditional medicine with roots in Greek, Middle-Eastern and Indian Medicine. ‘Tibb’ means medicine in Arabic, and dates from the early Islamic period (750-1000 CE). ‘Unani’ means Ionian (i.e. Greek), as the Perso-Arabic system of medicine was based originally on the teachings of Hippocrates and Galen. Unani medicine is based on Ibn Sina's (Avicenna’s) The Canon of Medicine.
Unani medicine has similarities to Ayurvedic medicine being based on the theory of the elements: fire, water, earth and air. Tibb is based on the Greek concept of humours: blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile. Each person’s unique mixture of these humours and elements determines his temperament. Accordingly the practitioner keeps the patient’s temperament internally balanced and in harmony with the environment through treatment and appropriate changes in lifestyle and diet. Unani Tibb is practiced worldwide particularly in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.