Renaissance

During the Renaissance, new approaches to learning challenged the idea that ancient writers had already provided the best answers. In medicine, this meant examining bodies, observing patients and testing explanations rather than simply accepting inherited teachings.

During the Medical Renaissance, c1500–c1700, explanations of illness began to change, but there was no sudden replacement of old beliefs with modern medicine. The most important development was a growing willingness to investigate and question accepted ideas. Understanding how to study disease improved faster than understanding what actually caused it.