TEMPERAMENT. – A functional synthesis of an individual, expressed by his most manifest and evident characteristic. Instead of the four humors proposed by ancient authors (phlegm, bile, black bile, and blood), today the basis of temperament is taken to be the prevailing functional characteristics in the field of the endocrine glands (v.) and the autonomic apparatus of vegetative life (v. NEUROVEGETATIVE SYSTEM).
Consequently, the classification of the various temperaments is made on the basis of the hyperfunction or hypofunction of a single endocrine gland or of a group of glands with synergistic action (endocrine constellations), always bearing in mind, however, that the term temperament is never an index of a morbid disposition, but rather of a paranormal functional condition at the limit, that is, between the normal and the pathological.
In the classification of temperaments, the function of the autonomic apparatus of vegetative life is also taken into consideration, inasmuch as its two sections, the sympathetic and the parasympathetic, preside over the synergistic, more than antagonistic, innervation of all the organs of vegetative life, impressing upon the individual, according to the prevalence of one section or the other, a particular neurovegetative tone.
Current knowledge, still limited, regarding the function of the known endocrine glands and the discovery of ever new organs endowed with such functions (liver, tonsils, etc.) do not permit the establishment of a precise and definitive classification of individual temperaments. The most widely used classification today is that proposed by N. Pende, who first distinguishes individuals into two groups: the hypervegetative and the hypovegetative, overlapping them respectively with the megalosplanchnic (individuals who, from the morphological point of view, present an excess of the trunk over the limbs) and the microsplanchnic (in whom the limbs are more developed than the trunk; V. CONSTITUTION). This classification is an eminently functional one, inasmuch as it takes into account the course of the anabolic and catabolic processes of the organism, that is, its energy metabolism. In hypervegetatives, anabolism is superior to catabolism, and there is an accumulation of fats and proteins, whereas in hypovegetative individuals the catabolic processes of oxidation are increased, and relational life prevails over vegetative life.
This particular course of metabolism is guided by the functionality of the endocrine glands, among which some preside over the anabolic processes of the organism, while others stimulate catabolism. Thus, two groups of endocrine glands have been identified, called endocrine constellations: one consisting of glands stimulating anabolism (ovary, adrenocortical gland, parathyroids, pancreas, epiphysis, and thymus) and one with opposite and contrasting action (thyroids, pituitary, interstitial cells of the testis, and the medullary part of the adrenal gland). The hyperfunction of a single gland or of an entire endocrine constellation comes to impress a particular character upon the individual whose temperament will be especially affected by the hyperproduction or scarcity of the hormone or hormones secreted by each gland or by the various glands with altered functionality, and from this circumstance it will take its characteristic.
It must be observed, however, that in clinical experience one sees individuals with similar functional tendencies who belong to the two opposite groups of hypervegetatives and hypovegetatives. That is, there are phenomena of glandular compensation between glands belonging to the two endocrine constellations, which lead to the annulment of the hyperfunctional activity of a gland. Both hypervegetatives and hypovegetatives must be subdivided into individuals with a sthenic temperament with prevalence of the sympathetic part of the vegetative nervous system and prompt and lively reaction; and individuals with an asthenic temperament with opposite characteristics and prevalence of the parasympathetic or vagal section of the same system.