developed by Hippocrates and later expanded by Galen, held that human health and temperament depended on the balance of four bodily fluids: blood (Sanguine Man), yellow bile (Choleric Man), black bile (Melancholic Man), and phlegm (Phlegmatic Man). See Alt #MedievalMedicine #Medievalsky

Medieval Remedies for Desire and Potency - Medievalists.net Medieval medical writers offered foods and prescriptions to boost desire and potency. Explore Ahmed Ibn al-Jazzar’s influential handbook and its remedies, from simple ingredients to elaborate recipes.

Medieval Remedies for Desire and Potency www.medievalists.net/2026/02/medi... #medieval #sex #medievalmedicine

An illuminated initial "C" from mid-13th century medical book, made in Paris. Inside the initial, a male master is seated with a book on a lectern. In front of him on a stand is a bowl holding several human body parts. On the right are students looking on. Source: Avignon, Bibliothèque municipale, MS 1019, f. 5r (detail).

From a catalog description of Avignon, Bibliothèque municipale, MS 1019. The entry reads: "Les treize initiales historiées offrent un aperçu, parfois amusant à nos yeux, sur le contenu des dix livres du Liber ad Almansorem et des trois textes suivants. Pour le cours d'anatomie au fol. 5, Rhazès décrit à sa classe les membres dépecés d'un corps humain dans une jatte." Which translates as: "The thirteen illuminated initial letters offer a glimpse, sometimes amusing to our modern eyes, into the content of the ten books of the Liber ad Almansorem and the three subsequent texts. For the anatomy lesson on folio 5, Rhazes describes to his class the dissected limbs of a human body in a bowl."

Okay, Dr Schine, you're on.

Here's my #MedievalMedicine entry: a detail of a bowl with human body parts. The "master" seen lecturing here is describing the anatomy of the body. From a mid-13thC copy of the Latin translation of Rhazes' (d. 925 or 35) "Book for al-Mansur", made in Paris.

The beginning of the Table of Contents (342 entries), the first listed being "Trotula" by Kish G. Tracy.

The abstract for the entry on "Trotula." "The Trotula is a text on women’s medicine compiled in southern Italy in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. It has three sections: the Book on the Conditions of Women, Women’s Cosmetics, and Treatments for Women. The Treatments for Women is attributed to Trota (or Trocta), a female healer from the city of Salerno, a city known as a center for medical knowledge. Her name lends itself to the title given to the entire collection, even though the two other sections were written by male authors. The three texts approach women’s health from different perspectives, ranging from the theoretical to the practical. Trota’s Treatments for Women is mainly experiential with practical advice and recipes for women’s, and some men’s, conditions. It also reveals the social lives of women in Salerno at the time. There are 126 known manuscripts of the Latin Trotula with 29 representing a relative standardized version, indicating its popularity."

And look at what the 1st entry is! (I hope Trota gets an entry of her own, too!) #MedievalSky #MedievalMedicine #histmed

Opening paragraph of Monica H. Green, “Flowers, Poisons, and Men: Menstruation in Medieval Western Europe,” in Menstruation: A Cultural History, ed. Andrew Shail and Gillian Howie (New York: Palgrave, 2005), pp. 51-64, archival copy deposited in Knowledge Commons, https://doi.org/10.17613/tykab-amf70 .

Excerpt from Green, "Flowers" (2005): "A striking feature of medical writing is that it keeps a largely neutral perspective on menstrual blood. It is very rare for a medical writer to say anything about the allegedly harmful properties of menstrual blood. Just as other bodily emissions, such as urine, might be usefully examined for signs of internal disruption in the body, so might doctors ask to see a woman's menstrual cloth to determine which humour might be predominating in her body."

By coincidence, I was just re-reading yesterday my 2005 overview of medieval ideas about menstruation, and found that there, too, it was recognized that menstrual blood could be used for its diagnostic value, just like other effluvia. works.hcommons.org/records/jj4p... #MedievalMedicine #histmed

Post from Mary Ann Bernal - YouTube The Plight of the Lepers — Desperate “Cures” Post 2 of 5 From bird blood in Leviticus to snake venom, frog poison, bee stings, and even arsenic, history is f...

The Plight of the Lepers: Desperate “Cures” — Snake venom, frog poison, even castration. History’s remedies reveal fear more than healing.
Read the full post on YouTube: www.youtube.com/post/Ugkx-S2...
#HistoricalDrama #LeprosyHistory #DiseaseAndStigma #MedievalMedicine

New York breaks a flu record in 2025 as cases spike, state health officials say Thousands of new flu cases​ in New York led to a 38% jump from the previous week, according to state health officials.

New York breaks a flu record as 2025 cases surge, state health officials say
new york breaks a flu record as 2025 cases surge, state health officials say www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news...
#Flu
#RFK #HHS #CDC #FDA #MedievalMedicine #Pandemic

Snake Remedies and “Snake Oil” in Medieval Medicine How medieval physicians used viper oil, theriac, and serpent remedies within rational medical systems shaped by Galen and Islamic medicine.

Medieval healers didn’t just use herbs — they also turned to serpent venom remedies.

This piece explores how snake-based treatments fit into the period’s medical logic and beliefs.

#Brewminate #History #MedievalMedicine

Magnificat Cultura i Literatura Medievals Journal of medieval culture and literature, methodologies and digital humanities

A red letter day in #MedievalMedicine. The Sciencia.cat team, which has been working for over 2 decades to study the medical & scientific heritage of medieval Catalan literature, has released an #OpenAccess collection of essays: turia.uv.es/index.php/MCLM. #Vernacularity #MedievalSky #histmed

Congratulations to @gi-anna97.bsky.social on her first book having just submitted her wonderful PhD thesis too. A truly brilliant young scholar of #histmed #medievalmedicine whose work all interested in history of medicine and medieval studies should follow.

Breslau Codex f. 156ra detail: initial 'D' opening Maurus, De urinis, showing a crowned female holding urine glass (negative).

In short, recovery of the Breslau Codex allows scholars of #MedievalMedicine & #GenderHistory to continue to interrogate this important document. Would I give anything to find the original again? Yes! Deciphering this image, for example, might be possible. But am I amazed what can be done now? YES!

St Bartholomew's Hospital in London has been healing patients since 1123, making it the UK's first modern hospital! 🏥 #RandomFact #History #London #MedievalMedicine

#MedievalSky #histmed Please welcome Anna Gili (@gi-anna97.bsky.social) to Bluesky. And check out her talk on 11 November, too! She talking about my favorite guy in #MedievalMedicine, Constantinus Africanus.

Medieval Medical Misinformation Persists Centuries before questionable COVID-19 information began rippling through social media, another inaccurate account of infectious disease sparked an early spread of misinformation—a myth that still lingers,...

Medieval Medical Misinformation Persists #Science #ScienceHistory #MedievalMedicine #Misinformation #HistoryOfScience

#MedievalMedicine #MedievalSky Do yourself a favor and take a few minutes to browse through this beauty of a 13thC manuscript now in Florence. Just perusing it is medicinal.

This week's reading material.

#forteantimesmagazine #witchesandwitchcraft #witchcraft #medievalmedicine

Medievalists - think about coming to Leeds early just before @imc-leeds.bsky.social. Would be really great to have plenty of early material at the @sshmedicine.bsky.social conference next summer #medieval #medievalmedicine

The Science of Compound Medicaments - CSMBR This lecture explores al-Majūsī’s "Kitāb al-Malakī" and its Latin translation, showing how Book X on compound medicaments was reshaped into a new synthesis of pharmacology and philosophy.

Oooh, an important talk by Anna Gili, with new evidence for elements of Constantine the African's attempts to salvage parts of al-Majusi's Kitab al-Malaki. November 11.
csmbr.fondazionecomel.org/events/onlin... #MedievalMedicine #Pharmaceutics #MedievalSky #histmed

Another important lecture in this series: @fancynahyan.bsky.social talking on "In Ibn al-Nafis' Shadow
Transformations in Medical Theory in Islamic Societies (1200-1520)," Oct. 7: csmbr.fondazionecomel.org/events/onlin.... #histmed #MedievalMedicine #MedievalSky

Looking forward to seeing the full citation to Caitlin Williams' piece on women & gardening! #MedievalSky #MedievalMedicine

Medieval Healers Used Nettles to Treat Wounds, Not Just to Sting, Study Finds - Medievalists.net Medieval healers saw nettles as more than a painful weed. New research uncovers how they used the stinging plant in remedies for wounds, infections, and more.

Medieval Healers Used Nettles to Treat Wounds, Not Just to Sting, Study Finds www.medievalists.net/2025/06/medi... #MedievalMedicine

Medieval Medicine Exposed: A Doctor’s Critique - Medievalists.net A medieval physician had a lot to say about his colleagues’ shortcomings.

Medieval Medicine Exposed: A Doctor’s Critique www.medievalists.net/2024/08/medi... #MedievalMedicine

Wicked creatures inside your teeth!

Wicked creatures inside your teeth!

Wicked creatures inside your teeth are the cause of your tooth ache! I mean what else could it be #medievalsky #medievalart #medieval #dentistry #medievalmedicine #teeth #dientes #middleages

Final slide from Monica Green's talk today, saying simply "THANK YOU!" Images are included from 3 manuscripts of Constantine the African's texts.

Yes, those sessions were amazing! The ready availability of whole libraries of MSS online (even w/o the sorely missed BL MSS) has totally transformed our ability to make *sustained* analyses of trends we find in #MedievalMedicine. Plus scholarly generosity: that's our secret weapon. #histmed