A medical observation apparatus includes: an imaging unit; a support unit including arms, a first joint that connects two of the arms and relatively rotates the two arms about a first rotation axis in accordance with given power, a second joint that connects two of the arms and relatively rotates the two arms about a second rotation axis in accordance with given power, a first motor that gives the power to the first joint, and a second motor that gives the power to the second joint; and a controller configured to control a rotational speed of the first motor in accordance with a first speed profile until the rotational speed reaches a predetermined operational speed, and control, until the rotational speed reaches the predetermined operational speed, a rotational speed of the second motor in accordance with a second speed profile that is different from the first speed profile.