The period from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment constitutes a vital phase in the history of European medicine. Elements of continuity with the classical and medieval past are evident in the ongoing importance of a humor-based view of medicine and the treatment of illness. At the same time, new theories of the body emerged in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to challenge established ideas in medical circles. In recent years, scholars have explored this terrain with increasingly fascinating results, often revising our previous understanding of the ways in which early modern Europeans discussed the body, health and disease. In order to understand these and related processes, historians are increasingly aware of the way in which every aspect of medical care and provision in early modern Europe was shaped by the social, religious, political and cultural concerns of the age.

During the nineteenth century, the provision of medical care underwent a radical transformation. In 1800, the body was still understood in terms of humours and fluids, and treatment was provided by a wide range of individuals, some of whom had little or no formal training. Institutions were marginal to the medical enterprise, and governments took almost no part in providing medical services. By 1930, however, a recognisably modern medicine had begun to emerge across Europe. New understandings of human physiology had resulted in the new science of surgical therapy; hospitals had become centres for care, research and training; and the newly organised medical professions increasingly sought to regulate medical practice. In most countries, the state had accepted responsibility for public health and the provision of basic welfare services. This volume provides readers with unrivalled access to a comprehensive range of sources on these major themes. Extracts from contemporary writings vividly illustrate key aspects of medical thought and practice, while a selection of classic historical research and up-to-date work in the field helps further our understanding of medical history. Thematically arranged, these sources are assembled to complement the essays in the companion volume, Medicine Transformed: Health, Disease and Society in Europe, 1800-1930. In addition, brief scholarly introductions make the sources accessible to both the specialist and the general reader. -- .