Ancient Roman Medicine

Question 0

How did Romans cure disease?

Answer 0

Natural & supernatural remedies

Used old household remedies

Question 1

Did Romans take anything from Greek medicine?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Were there doctors in Ancient Rome?

Answer 2

There were many doctors but they were very expensive and many were fake

Question 3

what was women’s role in roman medicine?

Answer 3

They often stayed at home and learnt which herbs cured what

Question 4

Did Romans make advancements in surgery?

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Describe the aspect that Roman public health was based on?

Answer 5

Preventative medicine- doing things to stop diseases from happening in the first place

Question 6

How did the Romans apply preventative medicine?

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Describe the roman public baths

Answer 7

A free place where all people could exercise, wash & relax

Question 8

Did Romans have hospitals?

Answer 8

Yes but all of their hospitals moved with the army

Question 9

What was the problem with the Roman sewage system ?

Answer 9

It all went into the river Tiber, which caused problems for many downstream

Question 10

Was Hippocrates known in Rome?

Answer 10

No

Question 11

Who was Galen

Answer 11

A famous Greek doctor, living in Rome

Question 12

What were Galen’s main discoveries?

Answer 12

The brain controls the body, not the heart

Nerves control our senses and the things we do

Question 13

Where did Galen learn medicine

Answer 13

As a surgeon in a gladiator school

Question 14

Did Galen agree or disagree with Hippocrates’ theories?

Answer 14

Agreed

Encouraged clinical observation

Believed in the 4 humours theory and developed it- by treating things with opposites

Question 15

Give two famous mistakes of Galen

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Why was Galen remembered?

Answer 16

He wrote everything he did down- his writing would be used for over 1000 years

Question 17

Why did Galen make so many mistakes?

Answer 17

He was only allowed to dissect animals and applied what he learnt about animals on humans

Question 18

What long term effect did Galen have on the development of medicine?

Answer 18

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

Question 19

What short term effect did Galen have in the discovery of medicine?

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Why did the church and Islamic cultures agree with Galen’s views?

Answer 20

Galen talked of a creator

Question 21

How did war affect Roman medicine?

Answer 21

Improved roman medicine as the army needed its soldiers back fighting as quickly as possible