The pathological and the normal: Mapping the brain in medieval medicine

Medieval medicine from the late eleventh century onward generally accepted the tripartite model of the brain. This study shifts our attention from the theoretical discussions of the mind and brain as ideal abstractions to more practical discussions of the perceived dysfunctions associated with a variety of brain diseases. When dealing with practical nosological concerns, medical writers began to recognize the deficiencies and overly reductive aspects of the model. Disease categories such as melancholia or stupor raised issues about how and where to locate these conditions in the brain by questioning which cognitive functions were damaged. One text in particular, Arnald of Villanova's De parte operativa, written ca. 1300, provides a case study that reviewed and critiqued earlier understandings of the relation between the pathological and normal brains.