Last update:
   20-Sep-2007
 

Arch Hellen Med, 24(2), March-April 2007, 186-196

HISTORY OF MEDICINE

Prohibition of anatomy dissections during the Middle Ages: Myth or reality?

C. TSIAMIS,1 Å. TOUNTA,2 Å. POULAKOU-REBELAKOU1
 1History of Medicine, Medical School, National University of Athens,
2Mittlere Geschichte, Philosophische Fakultät, Ruprecht Karls, Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

The aim of this study was to clarify the misunderstanding about the prohibition of dissections during the Middle Ages in Western Europe. A new approach to the prohibition is attempted, which is not determined only by the role of the Church. The political, social, cultural and theological parameters are examined that constituted the framework, within which the anatomists executed dissections for instructive or forensic purposes.

Key words: Anatomy, History of Medicine, Middle Ages, Universities.

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