medieval medicine, English

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In the Middle Ages (11th–16th centuries), medicine was notoriously unsuccessful and the practice of public health and hygiene was virtually non-existent. Little was known about the anatomy of the body as human dissection was forbidden by the church, except on executed criminals where it was seen as part of the punishment; physicians followed ancient medical texts written by classical thinkers, such as Galen, whose theories were based on dissections of animals and usually incorrect. Diagnosis was based upon observation of physical symptoms, especially the patient's urine, and treatment followed the theory of the humours (four body fluids: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile). Medieval monasteries had infirmaries for the sick, but there were few hospitals in England; the earliest hospitals, St Bartholomew's (1123) and St Thomas's (around 1215), were in London.

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