Did the medieval church help or hinder medicine?

The medieval church hindered the progress of medicine as they primarily believed in the idea of supernatural healing. They thought illness was sent by god to punish people for their sins. This hindered an advance in medicine as people still believed in an almighty power causing disease and sickness. The church also discouraged dissection because it tampered with human remains. This ban on human dissection did not allow surgeons and physicians to further study anatomy and increase their knowledge therefore this church law did not help progress. Another example of hindrance was that the Church punished anyone who dared disagree with Galen, who the church thought was an example of an early Christian, this hindered the introduction of new medical theories and as people who tried to spread new medical findings were punished for their disagreement with Galen. The Church was also very suspicious of women and prevented them from training as doctors, which may have set medical fields like midwifery back.

 However, the church did also help medical progress as it was seen as a centre of education in the west. Monks preserved the works of Hippocrates and Galen and monasteries became important medical centres, as most had an infirmary for sick monks and hospitals, like the Hospital Dieu in Paris, for the public. As well as providing the sick public with places to stay, the Church provided continuity after the collapse of the Roman Empire. The Church became the main link to Roman civilization and learning. This allowed them to learn about public health which was evident in many wealthy monasteries as they could afford to build water pipes, drains and wash houses which helped medical progress through introducing elements of sanitation.  

In conclusion, the medical church did both help and hinder the progress of medicine. However, in my opinion the church did more to hinder medical progress than help it. In that they punished new ideas, believed ultimately in super natural healing and discouraged important elements of learning like human dissection which forced the dissection of animals, which did not always portray an accurate picture of human anatomy.