Medieval Medicine- Religion

Many doctors believed that illness was caused by evil spirits After reading Hippocrates and Galen's work they adapted their ideas to fit the Four Humours Surgeons were advised to only operate when they knew the cause of the pain and how to fix it.  Doctors were warned that Allah was watching and they should never operate for personal gain Doctors had to take exams to become doctors Dissecting human bodies was forbidden by Islamic law Muslims created processes such as distillation and sublimation to develop drugs

Religion- Islamic Ideas

Religion- Christian Ideas

The Church encouraged people o pray for deliverance for illness, forgiveness for sins and to prepare for the afterlife They believed that pilgrimage could produce a cure.  Many pilgrims would leave miniature copies of infected body parts Religion prevented the dissection of human bodies The Church relied on Galen's work Hospitals were set up for the sick, many attached to monasteries (it was regarded as the Christian duty to look after the sick) Some hospitals refused to take in sick people or women