"History of Medicine" provides an accessible historical and interdisciplinary perspective on medicine, focused primarily upon therapy and practice, to achieve better understanding of the scope, practice, and limits of medicine. Medicine is defined as the treatment of disease. Human attempts to understand and treat disease will be seen as evolving from the spiritual and mystical practices of the distant past, to the rational approach of the Classical World, and finally to the scientific thinking of the Renaissance and beyond.



The History of Medicine: Philosophy, Science, and Psychology


Instructors: Grant Hartzog
Access provided by Coursera Learning Team
11,462 already enrolled
(73 reviews)
What you'll learn
You will learn to describe historical attempts to unravel the mysteries of disease with various theoretical models.
You will learn to tell the story of the major advances in modern medicine.
You will learn to speculate on the future of medicine from an informed perspective.
Details to know

Add to your LinkedIn profile
10 assignments
See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills


Earn a career certificate
Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV
Share it on social media and in your performance review

There are 5 modules in this course
We start with the basics this week: disease, medicine, and the origins of therapy.
What's included
7 videos5 readings2 assignments
This week we travel through time and space, from the ancient world to the Renaissance, to Egypt, India, Greece, China, the Islamic world, and finally, Western Europe.
What's included
10 videos4 readings2 assignments
This week we review the rapid advances in science (and pseudoscience) in the the 18th and 19th centuries.
What's included
7 videos4 readings2 assignments
This week we're getting into drugs and alternative medicine.
What's included
7 videos4 readings2 assignments
We've finally made it back to the present. This week we review the current state of the art and look ahead at the future of medicine.
What's included
11 videos4 readings2 assignments1 peer review
Instructors


Offered by
Why people choose Coursera for their career




Learner reviews
73 reviews
- 5 stars
78.66%
- 4 stars
17.33%
- 3 stars
4%
- 2 stars
0%
- 1 star
0%
Showing 3 of 73
Reviewed on Mar 20, 2023
It was challenging at best. I loved the ending project.
Reviewed on Mar 20, 2023
its a good course but i dont like the final project where it has to be peer edited
Reviewed on Mar 2, 2024
excellent course for an overview of Medicine. really great professors, especially Dr. Gates. thanks
Recommended if you're interested in Health
University of Colorado Boulder
University of Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen
MedCerts

Open new doors with Coursera Plus
Unlimited access to 10,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs - all included in your subscription
Advance your career with an online degree
Earn a degree from world-class universities - 100% online
Join over 3,400 global companies that choose Coursera for Business
Upskill your employees to excel in the digital economy