12 The Medical Renaissance
19.3.4: The Medical Renaissance
The Renaissance period witnessed groundbreaking developments in medical sciences, including advancements in human anatomy, physiology, surgery, dentistry, and microbiology.
Learning Objective
List the discoveries and progress made by leading medical professionals during the Early Modern era
Key Points
- During the Renaissance, experimental investigation, particularly in the field of dissection and body examination, advanced the knowledge of human anatomy and modernized medical research.
- De humani corporis fabrica by Andreas Vesalius emphasized the priority of dissection and what has come to be called the “anatomical” view of the body. It laid the foundations for the modern study of human anatomy.
- Further groundbreaking work was carried out by William Harvey, who published De Motu Cordis in 1628. Harvey made a detailed analysis of the overall structure of the heart and blood circulation.
- French surgeon Ambroise Paré (c. 1510-1590) is considered one of the fathers of surgery and modern forensic pathology, and a pioneer in surgical techniques and battlefield medicine, especially in the treatment of wounds.
- Herman Boerhaave (1668-1738) is regarded as the founder of clinical teaching, and of the modern academic hospital. He is sometimes referred to as “the father of physiology.”
- French physician Pierre Fauchard started dentistry science as we know it today, and he has been named “the father of modern dentistry.”
Key Terms
- William Harvey
- An English physician (1578-1657), and the first to describe completely and in detail the systemic circulation and properties of blood being pumped to the brain and body by the heart.
- Ambroise Paré
- A French surgeon (1510-1590) who is considered one of the fathers of surgery and modern forensic pathology, and a pioneer in surgical techniques and battlefield medicine, especially in the treatment of wounds.
- Galen
- A prominent Greek physician (129 CE-c. 216 CE), surgeon, and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Arguably the most accomplished of all medical researchers of antiquity, he influenced the development of various scientific disciplines, including anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, and neurology, as well as philosophy and logic.
- Andreas Vesalius
- A Belgian anatomist (1514-1564), physician, and author of one of the most influential books on human anatomy, De humani corporis fabrica (On the Fabric of the Human Body).
- humorism
- A system of medicine detailing the makeup and workings of the human body, adopted by the Indian Ayurveda system of medicine, and Ancient Greek and Roman physicians and philosophers. It posits that an excess or deficiency of any of four distinct bodily fluids in a person—known as humors or humours—directly influences their temperament and health.
The Renaissance and Medical Sciences
The Renaissance brought an intense focus on varied scholarship to Christian Europe. A major effort to translate the Arabic a