Scientiae in the History of Medicine: an Introduction
In: Storia della Medicina: 04, 2021
DOI: 10.48255/M.9788891320186.01
In its history, medicine has undergone transformations through a
combination of various, intersecting disciplines of knowledge, what early modern
scholars called scientiae. Indeed, the early modern time appears to be one of
the most thriving moments, and is probably the perfect period for exploring the
active presence of these diverse disciplines at work. Since the sixteenth century, physicians benefitted from the creation of anatomical theaters as locations for
the study of anatomy and for inspecting the human body more directly. At the
same time, botanical gardens were built at universities as repositories of vegetal
bodies (both medicinal and general plants) to be observed, studied, accommodated,
and cultivated, while the construction of medical museums helped in
shaping the discipline and favoured scholars in observing corpses and diseases,
besides the mere instruction of non-experts. For example, the museums of
anatomo-pathology at the University of Padua collects a case of the congenital
condition situs inversus, that is, the reversed arrangement of visceral organs,
making this peculiar case visible to scholars and learned people.
In this sense,
these locations represent both a historical venue, where one could explore the
history of medical disciplines, and a place for current study and research. Understanding
their construction and uses in the early modern time appears thus
crucial to comprehending the boundless condition of medical knowledge and
its changes and transformations at the beginning of the scientific revolution.