Ancient Rome Flashcards
Why is the medicine of Ancient Rome relevant to Britain? (3 points)
Because the Romans invaded us in AD49 bringing their ideas about medicine with them.
Some of their ideas (i.e. Galen’s influence on Christianity) remained in Britain for thousands of years.
Church was v. imp. and inluential throughout the Middle Ages
Who did the Romans take their ideas about medicine from?
The Greeks e.g. Hippocrates and the four humours
What were the Roman supernatural beliefs in medicine?
That gods inflicted diseases as punishment
What were the supernatural ways Romans tried to cure themselves?
They built temples to the gods to ask them to cure them
What natural causes for sickness did the Romans believe in?
- Bad air and smells
2. Dirt
How long did people believe that bad air and smells caused sickness?
Up until the Renaissance
How did the Romans try to stop bad air and smells from causing them sickness?
They built their settlements away from swamps
How did the Romans prevent epidemics in their overcrowded towns and cities?
They developed PUBLIC HEALTH schemes
What were the Romans’ 3 public health schemes?
- Public toilets and sewers
- Water pipes providing: public baths and toilets
- Aqueducts
How did ‘public toilets and sewers’ promote hygiene?
Public toilets were provided, and sewers washed the waste AWAY from the CITIES to nearby RIVERS
How did ‘water pipes’ promote hygiene?
Water pipes were built from lead to carry CLEAN WATER into towns for EVERYONE to use.
The towns had public FOUNTAINS for drinking and public BATHS for washing
How did ‘aqueducts’ promote hygiene?
Aqueducts were built to TRANSPORT water FROM rivers and lakes into towns and cities
What happened when the Romans left Britain, and why did this affect medicine?
War broke out between the previously occupied countries, and the things the Romans had built were destroyed
What 4 things impacted medicine in previously occupied countries when the Roman Empire collapsed?
- PUBLIC HEALTH systems were destroyed
- LIBRARIES full of medical books were dismantled
- Invading tribes couldn’t read- weren’t interested in EDUCATION or Galen’s work
- WAR was most imp. priority- MONEY spent on armies rather than education and medicine
What was the only powerful thing to survive the collapse of the Roman Empire?
Their religion- the Christian Church
