Galenic Causation in the Practical and Theoretical Medicine of Giambattista da Monte

Giambattista Da Monte methodically discussed the causes of disease according to Galenic definitions and applied these causes in his diagnosis and treatment of patients, devising a seemingly original interpretation of the categories of procatarctic, proegoumenic or antecedent, and containing causes. While discussions of these causal categories are found in medieval medical works, during the first half the sixteenth century, medical theorists reappraised them. Niccolò Leoniceno, for example, questioned whether Galen in fact endorsed containing causes as an explanatory category. Da Monte, however, reaffirmed its importance in etiology while mapping out its relation to antecedent causes. His interest in these causes extended beyond theoretical consideration. He outlined, in his commentary on Avicenna’s Canon, how therapy should address each of the causes in an orderly fashion. Moreover, these theoretical considerations on causes are reflected in the collections of his consilia, case studies that detail his attempts to heal patients. In these case studies, Da Monte made efforts to identify various kinds of causes in order to find cures, revealing a robust understanding of disease and the limited role of humoral theory in both his etiology and his medical practice.