TEMPERAMENTO. – The functional synthesis of an individual, expressed by his most manifest and evident characteristic. In place of the four humors proposed by ancient authors (phlegm, bile, black bile, and blood), the functional characteristics prevailing in endocrine glands (v.) and of the autonomic system of vegetative life (v. VITA VEGETATIVA, SISTEMA) are today taken as the basis of t.
Accordingly, the classification of the various t. 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”), while always bearing in mind that the term t. is never an indication of a morbid disposition, but rather of a functional condition that is “paranormal at the limit,” that is, between the normal and the pathological.
In the classification of t., the function of the autonomic system of vegetative life is also taken into consideration, since its two sections, the sympathetic and the parasympathetic, preside over the synergistic, rather than antagonistic, innervation of all the organs of vegetative life, imparting to the individual, according to the predominance of one section or the other, a particular neurovegetative tone.
Present knowledge, still limited, of the function of the known endocrine glands, and the discovery of ever new organs endowed with such functions (liver, tonsils, etc.), do not permit a precise and definitive classification of individual t. The classification most commonly used today is that proposed by N. Pende, who first distinguishes individuals into two groups: the hypervegetative and the hypovegetative, respectively equating them with the megalosplanchnic (individuals who, morphologically, display an excess of trunk over limbs) and the microsplanchnic (in whom the limbs are more developed than the trunk; V. COSTITUZIONE). This classification is eminently functional, since it takes into account the course of the organism’s anabolic and catabolic processes, that is, its energetic turnover (metabolism). In the hypervegetative, anabolism exceeds 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 turnover is guided by the functionality of the endocrine glands, among which some preside over the organism’s anabolic processes, while others stimulate catabolism. Two groups of endocrine glands have thus been identified, called “endocrine constellations”: one consisting of glands stimulating anabolism (ovaries, adrenal cortex, parathyroids, pancreas, pineal gland, and thymus), and one with an opposite and counteracting action (thyroid, 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 imparts a particular character to the individual, whose t. will be especially affected by the overproduction or scarcity of the hormone or hormones secreted by each gland or by the various glands with altered functionality; from this circumstance it derives its characteristic.
It must nevertheless be observed that clinical experience shows individuals with similar functional tendencies who belong to the two opposing groups of the hypervegetative and hypovegetative. There are, that is, phenomena of glandular compensation between glands belonging to the two endocrine constellations, which lead to the nullification of the hyperfunctioning activity of one gland. Both hypervegetative and hypovegetative individuals must be divided into individuals of sthenic t., with predominance of the sympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system and a prompt, lively reaction; and individuals of asthenic t., with opposite characteristics and predominance of the parasympathetic or vagal section of the same system.
Thus arises a whole variety of t. Among the hypovegetative, the sthenic: hyperthyroid, hyperthyroid-hyperpituitary; and the asthenic: hypoparathyroid, hypoadrenal, hypogenital; among the hypervegetative, the sthenic: hyperadrenal, hypergenital; and the asthenic: hypothyroid, hypothyroid-hypopituitary, hyperpancreatic.