Renaissance medicine

Medicine of the Renaissance era in Europe, from around 1400 to around 1750. The Renaissance marked a change of direction for medical knowledge and practice following the stagnation of medieval medicine in the preceding period. A rebirth of interest in the pursuit of new knowledge and scientific enquiry began, similar to that found in ancient Greek medicine. The known world expanded for Europeans, as they discovered the Americas and explored the continents of Asia and Africa, making contact with new peoples and civilizations. New medicinal plants and treatments were brought back to Europe and new technologies such as the microscope emerged, influencing medical development. The spirit of discovery encouraged scientific research that overturned the traditional practices of the Middle Ages, which had been based on the classical teachings of Egypt, Greece, and Rome.