My aim here is to consider the evidence for both anatomical and surgical knowledge in the Middle East and Europe during the medieval period. A large body of excellent research exists that explores medicine at that time. However, some areas are understood much better than others, and some theories from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are still included in modern texts even though they have been disproved or significantly revised. The Middle East and Europe were distinct geographically, linguistically, and theologically, but the theory that underpinned the understanding of medieval medicine was the same since both regions followed the humoural theory of the ancient Greeks. Despite the known differences between medieval Europe and the Middle East, there was considerable movement of people, translation of medical texts, and practical interaction between medical practitioners from both regions, especially at the time of the crusades. This complex interaction allows us to consider the flow of ideas between cultures, and to compare and contrast how these differing cultures led to variation in the practice of anatomical dissection and surgery.