Ancient Roman Medicine Flashcards
How did Romans cure disease?
Natural & supernatural remedies
Used old household remedies
Did Romans take anything from Greek medicine?
They didnt use much Greek medicine- didnt follow hippocratic beliefs + values
They still had Asclepia
Still used votive stones- they placed them outside of temples to try and cure themselves
Were there doctors in Ancient Rome?
There were many doctors but they were very expensive and many were fake
what was women’s role in roman medicine?
They often stayed at home and learnt which herbs cured what
Did Romans make advancements in surgery?
Yes- they had a number of wars which trained their surgeons well
They needed to get their soldiers back fighting quickly so improved surgery drastically
Describe the aspect that Roman public health was based on?
Preventative medicine- doing things to stop diseases from happening in the first place
How did the Romans apply preventative medicine?
They realised that many disease came from stagnant water so they drained all the swamps and didn’t build settlements near stagnant water
Romans realised dirt, sewage & bad water caused disease so they built a SEWAGE SYSTEM and AQUEDUCTS which carried fresh water
Describe the roman public baths
A free place where all people could exercise, wash & relax
Did Romans have hospitals?
Yes but all of their hospitals moved with the army
What was the problem with the Roman sewage system ?
It all went into the river Tiber, which caused problems for many downstream
Was Hippocrates known in Rome?
No
Who was Galen
A famous Greek doctor, living in Rome
What were Galen’s main discoveries?
The brain controls the body, not the heart
Nerves control our senses and the things we do
Where did Galen learn medicine
As a surgeon in a gladiator school
Did Galen agree or disagree with Hippocrates’ theories?
Agreed
Encouraged clinical observation
Believed in the 4 humours theory and developed it- by treating things with opposites
Give two famous mistakes of Galen
He believed that the human jaw was made up of two bones when it was made up of one
He thought that the heart was split into two parts
Why was Galen remembered?
He wrote everything he did down- his writing would be used for over 1000 years
Why did Galen make so many mistakes?
He was only allowed to dissect animals and applied what he learnt about animals on humans
What long term effect did Galen have on the development of medicine?
Because Galen had discovered ‘everything’ future doctors didnt bother to research things
The church agreed with Galen and endorsed his ideas, even though they were wrong- furthermore the church discouraged anyone from arguing with his views
In the long term, he held back the development of medicine
What short term effect did Galen have in the discovery of medicine?
He discovered many things (although a lot were wrong, they were better than what doctors already had) which led to the short term discovery of new treatments
Benefited development of medicine in short term
Why did the church and Islamic cultures agree with Galen’s views?
Galen talked of a creator
How did war affect Roman medicine?
Improved roman medicine as the army needed its soldiers back fighting as quickly as possible
