6. The rise of surgery during the medieval period
Galen had been a surgeon of considerable skill, and his records describing his surgical techniques were a major influence during the medieval period. His skills had been honed in caring for the emperors, as well as gladiators who had been injured in the arena. Galen developed a surgical procedure for the removal of cataracts remarkably similar to the procedure used today. He also developed and practiced brain surgery, including the removal of tumors. By the medieval period, surgeons used the surviving texts written by Galen and other practitioners from the ancient world as their guides. Surgery was thus developed based on the practices of individuals among the ancients, rather than standardized by any degree.
By the twelfth century, medical schools at universities (themselves evolved from the monasteries) began to create a more uniform study of surgery. Surgery began to be taught formally, particularly in Italy, but among medical practitioners, the surgeon was on the bottom rung of the professional ladder. The Crusades contributed to the low regard of surgeons. Surgeons traveling with the armies were tasked with declaring whether a casualty was dead, and if not, with treating their wounds. They were distinct from the barber surgeons, who performed tasks considered too mundane for the surgeon, such as bloodletting and stitching up wounds, as well as the trimming of beards and hair.