What was medieval medicine?

Answer 1

Medieval medicine consisted of teachings from different sources, including the following

• Those inherited from the Romans and Greeks, which had to do with such things as the humors, which were black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood. The use of leeches to draw blood was intended to balance the humors.
• Astrology. This was used to find a specific cause of disease and a specific cure.
• Local European folk medicine, which was largely herbal.
• Medicine imported from Arab countries.

The Arab medicine is particularly interesting. The following quote from the Wikipedia article, "Medicine in Medieval Islam," which is rather well documented, is interesting in this regard (there is a link to this part of the article below): Like in other fields of Islamic science, Muslim physicians and doctors developed the first scientific methods for the field of medicine. This included the introduction of mathematization, quantification, experimentation, experimental medicine, evidence-based medicine, clinical trials, dissection, animal testing, human experimentation and postmortem autopsy by Muslim physicians, whilst hospitals in the Islamic world featured the first drug tests, drug purity regulations, and competency tests for doctors.