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During the first five centuries AD the early Christians destroyed many classic Greek and Roman texts, perceiving them to be heretical. The most serious damage was the suppression of scientific inquiry and experimentation. Fortunately, the classical ideas
were kept alive and used as a basis for further scientific endeavors by the
Arabists, a term that describes thinkers such as Persians, Christians, Jews, and others who lived in Muslim countries. Their name derives from the fact that not only did they write in Arabic, but they also embraced the Islamic philosophy of the time, which encouraged the preservation of all learning and knowledge. The
Arabists' highly developed understanding of pharmacy and chemistry enabled them to develop techniques for drug preparation that are still in use today. They also pioneered the development of efficiently run hospitals in which the terminally ill, elderly, or merely unwanted were cared for.
Among the
Arabists, Avicenna 980 to 1037 AD stands out as an influential teacher and physician. He attempted to codify all medical knowledge in his Canon
Medicinae. This text was still in use 600 years later in the seventeenth century medical schools, including those in England.
When the Western world began to emerge from the Dark Ages during the twelfth century, the Greek Tradition's of medicine, enriched by Islamic thought, was yielded back to the west. First in monasteries, and then in secular universities, the classical writers were studied once more, and the contributions of the Arabists were translated into Latin.
 By the middle of the fifteenth century rational thought and the notions of personal worth and individuality, heralded the start of the Renaissance. The invention of the movable type printing press further enhanced the spread of knowledge. The universities had begun to emerge as centers of learning in Europe, and the unquestioned adherence to the medical practice's of ancient Greece and Rome was challenged by individuals such as
Paracelsus, a controversial medical practitioner, healer, and mystic. Not only did he challenge the absolute authority of Galen and
Hippocrates, he also had the audacity to teach in German instead of Latin.
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