The time between 1450 and 1700, described as the Medical Renaissance, was a period of transition, new discoveries and renewed assessment of old theories.

The Church was critical of the need for human bodies for dissection and defensive of the effect of scientific method challenging the biblical miracle theory and the importance of prayer in healing. However the Church financially provided libraries and University education of Physicians and later Surgeons. It was still involved in the registration of qualified doctors, surgeons and midwives.

Woman continued to play an important part in overall medical care but in many ways their position was weakened. The importance of the wise woman in the villages became less as more patients sought advice from qualified doctors and their reliance on herbal remedies sometimes led to the wise woman being condemned as witches. Midwives were unable to use the newly discovered forceps without surgical training and as women were unable to attend universities they could not be fully qualified Physicians or, by the end of the period, Surgeons. Woman who had been able to train as surgeons were also thwarted by the block on University training. Increasingly the middle classes, as well as the wealthy, demanded highly qualified doctors. Women played a variety of roles in the plague control, as nurse-keepers and searchers, and were still a vital first contact in illnesses as wife and mother.

This was a period of transition rather than complete revolution. Many people still followed the theory of the four humours commonly using bleeding and purging as shown in the papers of Lady Grace Mildmay (1552-1620), a wealthy gentlewoman. Her remedies relied heavily on herbal treatments often using the newly imported quinine. The treatment of King Charles II’s terminal stroke included bleeding, herbal remedies, magical stones and prayer. Magical amulets, such as the Abracadabra amulet, were worn as protection against the plague. James Woodforde (1740-1805), an English parson and diarist, described the use of innoculations against smallpox and also an increasing reliance on doctors but still followed the practices of bleeding, rhubarb powders and a roasted onion inserted in the ear for earache. Considering the desperate consequences of the plague very few lessons were learned other then reducing contact with victims and even that was explained by the old theory of miasma (bad air). Pare’s ideas were successful but many army surgeons did not agree they were the treatments of choice to apply within the time constraints of battle.

There were many advances made in medical knowledge during the period of the Medical Renaissance. However the changes did not noticeably benefit patients’ health at the time. Dissection and accurate artwork allowed better understanding and education on anatomy. Harvey’s physiological approach helped in the understanding of blood circulation and the function of the heart. Unfortunately there were no great advances in surgery to apply this information in a practical and beneficial way. People’s expectations of the quality and qualifications of their doctors rose but they were reluctant to leave the safety of the old theories and beliefs. The reluctance to accept the new scientific approach along with little improvement in public health measures are the main reasons why there was a lag between these important developments and any improvement in death rates. Whilst the medical renaissance was an interesting and important time of development in medical history it was not so important in terms of improved morbidity and mortality. In my opinion it supports the view that medicine is more of an art form than a science.