Whose book would medieval trained doctors use?

Whose book would medieval trained doctors use?

• A. Hippocrates'
• B. Avicenna
• C. Galen's
• D. Vesalius'

Answer: (C)

In the Middle Ages, medical teaching rested on Galen's writings, which provided the comprehensive framework doctors used to understand the body, illness, and healing. His work organized medicine around the theory of four humors and offered systematic approaches to diagnosis and treatment, linking observing symptoms to the idea that health depended on balancing these humors. Because his texts were translated into Latin and studied in medieval universities, they became the standard reference for generations of physicians. Avicenna’s Canon was also influential, especially in the Islamic world and later in some places in Europe, but the most widely used and authoritative source in medieval Europe was Galen’s. Vesalius and the Renaissance later began to replace Galenic authority, but during medieval times Galen’s book was the primary guide.

In the Middle Ages, medical teaching rested on Galen's writings, which provided the comprehensive framework doctors used to understand the body, illness, and healing. His work organized medicine around the theory of four humors and offered systematic approaches to diagnosis and treatment, linking observing symptoms to the idea that health depended on balancing these humors. Because his texts were translated into Latin and studied in medieval universities, they became the standard reference for generations of physicians. Avicenna’s Canon was also influential, especially in the Islamic world and later in some places in Europe, but the most widely used and authoritative source in medieval Europe was Galen’s. Vesalius and the Renaissance later began to replace Galenic authority, but during medieval times Galen’s book was the primary guide.