Renaissance medicine - the beginnings of change - AQAThe Renaissance

Renaissance is a French word that means ‘rebirth’. Throughout the Renaissance, there were significant discoveries in medicine. Andreas Vesalius was able to prove in his studies, that some of Galen’s ancient ideas were wrong and this prompted other people to question long-held medical ideas and theories.

Developments in medicine during the Renaissance

During this period, ancient ideas were revisited and challenged. This resulted in discoveries in many areas, including science, technology, art, exploration and medicine. Some of these discoveries also helped medicine to develop.

In 1440, Johannes Gutenberg had invented the printing press. This meant that when new ideas were written down, they could quickly be copied many times and communicated to people across Europe. Artists made huge progress in the accuracy with which they drew human bodies, which helped to clearly communicate ideas in medical books.