Chapter one, Topic One: Medieval Medicine

Question 1

What was Hippocrates’ main theory and values?

Answer 1

• He believed in careful observation, and bodily treatments (unlike other doctors of the time who prayed to the Gods for help)
• He thought that to treat people effectively we must first try to understand how the human body worked
• Theory of the Four Humours
• Some of his ideas are used today e.g. Hippocratic oath stated that ‘doctors must do their patients no harm’

Question 2

Describe the Theory of the Four Humours

Answer 2

• Hippocrates said that illness was caused when any of the Four humours became out of balance
• Black Bile, Yellow Bile, Phlegm and Blood

Question 3

What were Galen’s main theory/discoveries?

Answer 3

• Built on Hippocrates’ theory of the 4 humours by producing the theory of opposites in order to balance the humours. e.g. is a patient has too much phlegm, the illness was caused by cold so he would feed them hot food such as peppers
• Proved that the brain, not heart, controlled speech
• Proved that arteries (not just the veins) carried blood around the body

Question 4

What was a mistake that Galen made?

Answer 4

He often dissected pigs and apes to find out about the human body. This meant he made mistakes as their anatomy is not the same as humans, and these were unchallenged for over a thousand years.

Question 5

How did Galen’s books influence medicine?

Answer 5

• Wrote over 350 books
• They became the basis of medical training for the next 1500 years
• Books lasted long as his ideas fitted in with the Christian church which controlled education in Europe in the middle ages (he taught that the body was created by one God)
• HOWEVER, few people tried to suggest alternative theories on what caused disease because they respected traditional ideas

Question 6

What did people think caused illness in the Middle Ages?

Answer 6

• Punishment from God
• ‘Bad Air’
• Astrology (movement of the planets)
• Unbalanced Humours (Hippocrates and Galen, common belief as European Physicians were trained using Galen’s books)

Question 7

How did people prevent, diagnose and treat illness in the Middle Ages?

Answer 7

• Urine Charts: Showed the colour, smell and thickness of urine to see if the humours were of of balance e.g. white urine was a sign of too much phlegm in the body
• Bleeding: People were regularly bled to avoid illness by surgeons or doctors. Leeches were also used to suck out the blood. (balancing humours)
• Herbal Remedies: Written down in books called ‘herbals’ and most women knew them by heart. They would say prayers while collecting the herbs to increase the effectiveness of the remedy.
• Cleaning the streets: Filth in streets believed to have caused ‘bad air’

Question 8

Who treated the sick in Medieval Times?

Answer 8

PHYSICIANS (highest-ranking doctors): Well paid, only the rich could afford to be treated by them. Trained at university, one method of training was watching dissections. Treated people based on 4 humours by bleeding, purging and advising them to wash regularly, clean teeth and bathe in hot water

SURGEONS: Visited by people with little money if they were very worried about their illness. They were trained as apprentices to experienced surgeons (so some were skilful)

WOMEN: Most people couldn’t afford a physician so were treated by a family member. Remedies were learned due to passing recipes down from their mother/grandmother to treat their husbands and children. Could also consult a wise woman in the village.
Remedies actually sometimes worked (were not just superstition) as many included honey which is known to fight infection.