By analyzing medical painting artworks from ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad, this paper explored the visual narrative functions and their historical evolution. The study revealed that in ancient times, medical painting art was mostly set against religious and mythological backgrounds, portraying the mysterious and supernatural aspects of disease. With the advent of the Renaissance, painting art gradually broke free from religious constraints and began to depict disease more realistically. In modern times, painting art has further embodied humanistic care and ethical spirit, and has gradually integrated narrative therapy and health communication, reflecting the integration of medical science and humanistic spirit. This evolutionary process not only witnessed the development of medical science and the transformation of human health concepts but also revealed the changes in the narrative characteristics of medical painting art from obscurity to clarity, from metaphor to concreteness, and from a one-sided focus on biological aspects to an emphasis on medical, social, and humanistic aspects.