C5 - Dealing with Disease Flashcards
What did Nicholas Culpeper do?
He wrote ‘The complete herbal’ (1653) and used plants and astrology in his treatments. He was highly critical of bloodletting and purging.
What did Thomas Syndenham do?
He was an English doctor who stressed the careful observation of symptoms and was critical of quack medicine. He noted the symptoms of scarlet fever and used iron for treating anaemia. He dismissed the value of dissections and ignored Harvey’s discovery because it did not help treat patients. He still used bleeding methods for treatment. His book ‘Medical Observations’ (1676) became a standard textbook.
What were some eighteenth century medical treatments?
- bloodletting
- herbal remedies, for example the bark of a Cinchona tree from South America which contained quinine for malaria
- opium from Turkey was used as an anaesthetic
- John Woodall (military surgeon) discovered lemons and limes as a treatment for scurvy in 1617
- there were beliefs about treatment, such as the power of the royal touch to cure the disease scrofula, or ‘king’s evil’
Who offered medical treatments in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries?
Barber-surgeons - poorly trained people who would give you a haircut and perhaps perform a small operation like bloodletting or teeth pulling
Apothecaries - they had little or no medical training, but sold medicines and potions
Wise women - their treatments often relied on superstition, but they did have extensive knowledge of plants and herbs
Quacks - showy, travelling salesmen who sold all sorts of medicines or ‘cure-alls’
Trained doctors - such as those who treated King Charles II using a mixture of new and traditional knowledge including the four humours
How many people died in the Great Plague?
In 1665, the plague returned in an epidemic that killed 100,000 people in London and thousands of people in the rest of the country.
What were some remedies for the Great Plague?
- bleeding with leeches
- smoking to keep away the ‘poisoned air’
- sniffing a sponge soaked in vinegar
- using animals such as frogs, pigeons, snakes and scorpions to ‘draw out the poison’
- moving to the countryside to avoid catching the plague, as King Charles II and his court did
What was different in the way the Great Plague was dealt with compared to the Black Death?
- people recognised the connection between dirt and disease, with most deaths occurring in the poorest, dirtiest areas
- there was a more organised approach - mayors and councillors issued orders to try to halt the spread of the disease
- ‘women searchers’ identified plague victims, examined the sick and noted those with plague symptoms
- there was a more effective quarantine victims in their houses, guarded by watchmen
- bodies were removed at night and buried in mass plague pits
- fires were lit to try and remove the poisons they thought were in the air
- orders were issued for streets to be swept and animals were not allowed in the streets
- gatherings of crowds for plays or games were banned
- trade between plague towns stopped and the Scottish border closed
How did the plague end?
Rats developed a greater resistance to the disease, so fleas did not need to find human hosts. After 1666, quarantine laws prevented epidemic diseases coming into the country by ship.
Who paid for the building of eighteenth century hospitals?
Hospitals were paid for either by the rich, such as Guy’s Hospital in London (1724) or by ‘private subscription’, where local people clubbed together to pay.
What were some key features of eighteenth century hospitals?
- many new ones were built - 5 new general hospitals built in London between 1720 and 1750
- patient numbers increased - by 1800, London hospitals had over 20,000 patients a year
- hospitals has specialist wards for different types of diseases and often had medical schools
- hospital treatment was free but still mainly based on the four humours
- attitudes to illness changed as Christians thought it better to help the sick than argue about beliefs and types of church service
- fewer people thought illness was a punishment for sin, instead they believed a more evidence-based, scientific approach
- some hospitals added pharmacies, giving the poor free medicines, such as in Edinburgh (1776)
- specialist hospitals were created, like London’s Lock Hospital for venereal disease (1746) and a maternity hospital, the British Hospital for Mothers and Babies (1749)
Who was John Hunter (1728-93)?
He was a pioneer of scientific surgery. He was appointed as Surgeon to King George III in 1776, and Surgeon-General to the army in 1790.
What were some of Hunter’s books?
His books were based on carful observation, dissection skill and experimentation, as well as his experience in the army. Examples include ‘The Natural History of Teeth’ (1771), ‘On Venereal Disease’ (1786) and ‘Blood inflammation and gunshot wounds’ (1794). They included his discoveries on the nature of disease, cancer and the circulation of the blood, with recommendations such as not enlarging gunshot wounds when treating them.
What was important about Hunter’s teaching?
He taught hundreds of other surgeons (including Edward Jenner) in his scientific approach. He inspired many young surgeons to become great medical teachers and professors, some of whom founded famous teaching hospitals in nineteenth century Britain and America.
What were some of Hunter’s methods?
He demanded careful observation in surgery and even experimented on himself in 1767, with gonorrhoea germs. He also tried a radical surgery in 1785 in which he saved a man’s leg who had an aneurysm by not performing the standard amputation.
What was important about Hunter’s collection of specimens?
Hunter collected and studied over 3000 anatomical specimens such as stuffed animals, dried plants, fossils, diseased organs, and embryos. He also experimented by pumping wax into blood vessels to study circulation.
