c.1500 - c.1700: The Medical Renaissance in Britain Flashcards
What was rediscovered in the Renaissance?
Knowledge from classical Greek and Roman times.
Western doctors gained access to the original writings of Hippocrates and Galen.
How did people start to discover new ideas about how the human body worked in the Renaissance?
Through direct observation and experimentation.
Why did people start to examine the body themselves and to come to their own conclusions about the cause of disease in the Renaissance?
The new books that had been discovered said that anatomy and dissections were very important.
How did people start to think about Galen’s ideas in the Renaissance?
They started to question his ideas. However, his writings continued to be studied.
How did the Catholic Church’s influence change in the Renaissance?
Protestant Christianity spread across Europe during the Reformation, reducing the influence of the Catholic Church.
Although religion was still important, the Church no longer had so much control over medical teaching.
Where did many doctors in the Renaissance train?
College of Physicians.
When was the College of Physicians set up?
1518
What did they study at the College of Physicians?
They read books by Galen.
Studied recent medical developments.
Dissections also became key.
What else did the College of Physicians encourage?
The licensing of doctors to stop the influence of quacks, who sold fake medicines.
How did the war affect development of treatment in the Renaissance?
New weapons like cannons and guns were being used in war which meant that doctors and surgeons had to treat injuries they hadn’t seen before, forcing them to find new treatments quickly.
How did exploration abroad advance medicine in the Renaissance?
It brought new ingredients for drugs back.
Including guaiacum - believed to cure syphilis.
And quinine - a drug for malaria from the bark of the Cinchona tree.
What did people believe guaiacum cured?
Syphilis.
What was quinine?
A drug for malaria from the bark of the Cinchona tree.
What did Henry VIII do in 1530’s that was bad for people’s health?
He closed down most of Britain’s monasteries and since most hospitals had been set up and run by monasteries this also led to the closer of a large number of hospitals.
When did Henry VIII perform the ‘dissolution of the monasteries’?
1530’s
How did people deal with the ‘dissolution of the monasteries’?
Monastic hospitals where gradually replaced by some free hospitals, paid for by charitable donations.
Who now ran the new hospitals after the ‘dissolution of the monasteries’?
Trained physicians.
Why was change rapid during the Renaissance?
New technology sped things up by allowing ideas to be circulated more easily.
How did the invention of printing accelerate change in the Renaissance?
- Printing meant that books could be copied more easily.
- In the past, new ideas had to be widely accepted before anyone would bother copying them by hand.
- Students in universities could have their own textbooks for the first time, letting them study in detail.
How did the invention of printing help education?
It meant that students in universities could have their own textbooks for the first time, letting them study in detail.
How did the invention of printing affect belief in Galen’s work?
At least 600 different editions of Galen’s books were printed between 1473 and 1599.
Lots of people knew his theories, but with so many different versions around, it was unclear what Galen had originally written.
This made his writing seem less reliable and easier to question.
What were the two main things that helped the spread of new ideas accelerate change in the Renaissance?
- the invention of printing
- the royal society
When was the Royal Society founded?
1660
What was the Royal Society’s motto and why was it that?
‘Nullius in verba’ - meaning ‘take no-one’s word for it’.
The society wanted to encourage people to be skeptical and to question scientific ideas.
What did the Royal Society publish that helped to spread new scientific theories and got people to trust new technology?
Its scientific journal ‘Philosophical Transactions’.
It allowed more people to read about new inventions and discoveries.
What did Ambroise Pare do in the 1500’s?
- He improved the treatment of amputations.
- Instead of sealing severed blood vessels by burning them with red hot iron (cauterisation)
- he tied them off with threads (ligatures).
- This was less painful so patients were less likely to die of shock.
- However it did increase the risk of infection.
Why was there continuity in treatments during the Renaissance?
- many doctors were reluctant to accept that Galen was wrong
- doctors were still very expensive
- superstition and religion were still important
What treatments did doctors continue to do during the Renaissance?
Bloodletting and purging.
Why didn’t more people use doctors during the Renaissance and what did they use instead?
Because doctors were still very expensive.
Instead used other healers e.g. apothecaries and barber-surgeons.
Some people turned to quack doctors who sold medicines and treatments in the street - the cures were often fake
What were wise women skilled in?
Herbal remedies.
How did wise women help in the Renaissance?
They were skilled in herbal remedies and carried on providing medical attention i the community.
Why was public health so bad during the Renaissance?
Living conditions in Renaissance towns were terrible.
- overcrowding
- lack of light and fresh air in houses
- streets were unclean
- no sewerage systems or rubbish collection
- clean water was hard to find
What did the local authorities begin to do during the Renaissance?
They began to improve conditions.
They used Acts of Parliament to get power to do things like keep roads clean.
What did the local authorities help to improve during the Renaissance?
Housing and some towns were planned with living conditions in mind.
