Dosha

thumb|The three doshas and the five great elements they are composed from

Dosha (, IAST: doṣa) is a central term in ayurveda originating from Sanskrit, and which refers to three categories or types of substances that are believed to be present conceptually in a person's body and mind. These Dosha are assigned specific qualities and functions. These qualities and functions are affected by external and internal stimuli received by the body. Beginning with twentieth-century ayurvedic literature, the "three-dosha theory" (, ) has described how the quantities and qualities of three fundamental types of substances called wind, bile, and phlegm (, , ; , , ) fluctuate in the body according to the seasons, time of day, process of digestion, and several other factors and thereby determine changing conditions of growth, aging, health, and disease.