Evolution of the Infirmary during the Medieval; Social, Economic and Religious Status

INTRODUCTION: Infirmary as we know it nowadays did not exist during the Middle Ages, but various precursors of the modern hospital evolved as a result of interactions between East and West. There is hardly any research describing the influence of Medieval social, economic and religious status in the West and East on infirmary. The present work aims on the development of infirmary at Medieval or Middle age with a short insight to previous evolution.
METHODS: The research was conducted in different stages. Textbooks and lectures from Department of History and Methodology of Science of the University of Athens (UoA) and other relevant departments of Greek universities were consulted. To collect relevant information, the keywords “infirmary”, “medical theory”, “ antiquity”, “medieval”, “hospital”, “West” and “Asklipieion” were searched on Google, PubMed and Wikipedia.
RESULTS: The infirmaries in the East were not simple buildings, rather a complex of clinical, teaching/education and praying areas. These institutions formed a model to later European infirmaries. Many of the physicians of the East were ahead of their times. It is obvious that during Middle Ages, religion was a keystone for the function of infirmary. Both in the East and West, Christianity and Islam provide ethical base and funding for function and development of new hospitals.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Despite the conflict between two worlds, their societies interacted and influenced medicine, the infirmary as an institution. It is the result of a long process of development of relations between people, societies or even religions and the way humanity perceives its nature and the future.