| The body was made up of four humours | | |
| Disease could be caused by angering the Gods | | |
| Disease was caused by too much blood | | |
| It was possible to alleviate disease by punishing yourself | | |
| Protection was possible if bacteria could be identified | | |
| There was no point in trying to find the causes of disease | | |
| Disease was caused by vapours from volcanoes | | |
| Religion and medicine were interwoven | | |
| Disease was caused by bacteria | | |
| Religious relics could protect people against disease | | |
| The main way to tackle disease was to improve public health | | |
| Maggots were created when matter decayed | | |
| Disease could be caused when opposites conflicted | | |
| Diseases had individual causes | | |
| Germs caused matter to decay | | |