Philosophy and medicine in late antiquity. Side by side in Alexandria and Ravenna until separation in the XVIII century

Philosophy and medicine went hand in hand for centuries. From the Ionian philosophers to the studies of medicine in European universities until the XVIII century, philosophy (i.e. logic, Aristotelian physics, etc.) was a prerequisite of medical knowledge. The joint discipline first flourished in Alexandria (V XI centuries) and then spread to Europe (first to Ravenna, VI century) and subsequently to the Arab world. The works of Agnellus iatrosophist (i.e. teacher of medicine) in Ravenna are closely related to the method of study and works of Alexandria, thus indicating a cultural exchange: philosophy, logic and medicine were related and Aristotle was studied before Galen. The process by which medicine became separate from philosophy was initiated in the XVII century by the revolutionary scientific teachings of Galileo and the anatomical studies of William Harvey. In the XVIII century, the profound impact chemistry and physics were to have on medicine and on man's perception of life completed the process.