For the first time in Italy, the cultural and artistic direction of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, known as the Renaissance, was conceived as a struggle against the «darkness» of the Middle Ages. The main task was to restore the» Golden age «of antiquity in contrast to the medieval» scholastic « discipline, which subjected the knowledge of the ancient world to pass through the prism of the dogmas of the Church. However, this did not stop the cultural revolution, which after Italy spread to France and Flanders, and also had an impact on all the countries of Western Europe. Based on the knowledge of the past, the people of the Renaissance were artists of a new genre (realism), architects and inventors. This is evidenced not only by the creative genius of Leonardo da Vinci, who lived at that time, but also by the appearance of the first commercial bankers. There were also scientists who discovered a new world, including human anatomy.
In the medical field, the concepts of «signs» and «symptoms» appeared, and for the first time, the word «rheumatism» received a modern definition. The first preparations obtained from mineral substances appeared, and undoubted success was achieved in the field of surgery. Renaissance medical concepts were sometimes called «pre-scientific» in the sense that proof was not necessary to formulate a theory: observations and personal conclusions were more than enough.