medieval progress and continuity

• Progress


  Things advancing, getting better
• Continuity


  Things staying the same, but not necessarily getting worse
• Regress


  Things getting worse, going backwards
• Factors that affect change in medieval medicine


  • The Church
  • Government
  • Individual genius
  • Education
  • Attitudes
• The Church


  • Believed diseases were a punishment from God
  • Controlled education, encouraged following ancient ideas like Galen and Hippocrates
  • Could persecute those who challenged old ideas
• Government


  • King was more focused on war and taxation than health
  • Reacted to events like the Black Death rather than planning ahead
  • Introduced some public health measures like quarantine
• Individual genius


  • Few significant medical individuals in Christian medieval Europe
  • Introduced some new ideas from Islamic doctors like Avicenna and Rhazes, but still based on ancient thinkers
  • Lack of new scientific breakthroughs
• Education


  • Controlled by the Church, focused on teaching ancient ideas like Galen
  • No human dissection allowed, relied on Galen's inaccurate work
• Attitudes


  • Conservative, respecting old ideas and the Bible
  • Superstitious, believed in astrology and the supernatural
  • Resistant to new ideas challenging ancient knowledge
• Overall, there was limited progress in medieval medicine, with more continuity and conservatism than change or advancement