The Unani System of Medicine has a long and impressive record in India. It was introduced in India by the Arabs and Persians sometime around the eleventh century.  As the name indicates, Unani system originated in Greece. The foundation of Unani system was laid by Hippocrates. The system owes its present form to the Arabs who not only saved much of the Greek literature by rendering it into Arabic but also enriched the medicine of their day with their own contributions. In this process they made extensive use of the science of Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, Therapeutics and Surgery.

• In India, Unani System of Medicine was introduced by Arabs and soon it took firm roots.  The Delhi Sultans (rulers) provided patronage to the scholars of Unani System and even enrolled some as state employees and court physicians.
• The fundamentals, diagnosis and treatment modalities of the system are based on scientific principles and holistic concepts of health and healing.
• lts holistic approach considers individual in relation to environment and stresses on health of body, mind and soul.
• Temperament (Mizäj) of a patient is given great importance in diagnosis and treatment of diseases with natural remedies derived mostly from plants.
• Temperament is also taken into consideration for identifying the most suitable diet and lifestyle for promoting the health of a particular individual.
• Unani System of Medicine considers the entire universe including human beings, disease, drugs, environmental factors etc to be intrinsically defined by four primary qualities — Hot, Cold, Dry and Wet.
• These qualities are reflected in all the basic concepts of Unani System of Medicine such as elements, temperament and four humours which are used for describing and correlating human health and disease with promotive and curative factors e.g. diet and drugs.

Regimental therapy (Ilaj-bil-Tadbir):

• Regimental therapy is special technique / physical methods of treatment to improve the constitution of body by removing waste materials and improving the defence mechanism of the body and protect health.
• In other words these are the best known “detoxification methods”.

Dieto therapy (Ilaj-bil-Ghiza):

• In Unani treatment, food plays a key role.
• By regulating the quality and quantity of food several ailments are treated successfully.
• There are several published books, which deals with the subject of diet in relation to specific diseases.
• Certain foods are considered as laxative, diuretic and diaphoretic.

Pharmacotherapy (Ilaj-bil-Dawa)

• This type of treatment involves the use of naturally occurring drugs, mostly herbal.
• Drugs of animals and mineral origin are also used.
• Natural drugs only are used because they are locally available and have no or less after effects on the body.
• Unani medicine presupposes that the drugs also have their own temperament. Since in this system, emphasis is laid on the particular temperament of the individual, the medicines, administered are such as go well with the temperament of the patient

Surgery (Ilaj-bil-Yad )

• This therapy is of very limited use, although the Unani system is credited to be pioneer in this field and having developed its own instruments and techniques.
• At present only minor surgery is in use in the system.

Conclusion:

India has emerged as the world leader in Unani system of Medicine with its noteworthy network of well-developed quality educational institutions, comprehensive healthcare facilities, state of art research and quality drug manufacturing industries. Many countries are approaching India for cooperation and support in the field of Unani medicine.