ABSTRACT
Medieval physicians and apothecaries explained illness in terms of faith and charity. Superstition abounded and often hindered the rise of rational medicine, but advances in pharmacy and medicine did occur. The Constitutiones recognized pharmacy as separate from medicine and, borrowing the concept from the Islamic world, pharmacy shops and medical schools were established to not only preserve but to advance pharmacy and medical knowledge. The medieval Church attempted to become a totally dominant institution and pharmacy and medicine thus became extensions of Church doctrine. The medieval monastery was a self-contained and self-sufficient community of people committed to the work of God, which included a moral obligation to care for the sick. Modern phlebotomy medieval physicians might examine a patient's blood in a process called hematoscopy. Apothecaries were obliged by oath to prepare drugs of uniformly good quality. Apothecary shops emerged with the rise of medieval towns, and the guild system ensured the competence of their members.
