Early Modern Medicine - The Beginnings of Change Flashcards
What was the Renaissance?
began in mid 15th century - old ideas were challenged and new technologies e.g. the microscope 1590 and Caxton’s printing press 1451
What were the most common killers of the 15th century?
“fever, consumption, teeth, gripping in the guts and convulsions” - little was known of the causes of diseases and therefore not cures
Who was Vesalius?
a professor of surgery and anatomy in the 16th century (1514-64)
How did Vesalius change medicine?
- dissected humans rather than animals and used scientific observation to develop more accurate views of the anatomy than Galen
- researched best places for bloodletting
- De Humani Corporis Fabrica explained how different systems worked (skeleton, muscles, nerves and veins)
- his work found its way to England and barber surgeons in London used his ideas
What did Vesalius write?
De Humani Corporis Fabrica
What did the De Humani Corporis Fabrica feature?
ideas about how systems in the body worked; veins, nerves, muscles and skeletons
What was the opposition to Vesalius’s and Paré’s ideas?
- English physicians were resistant to change - Catholic Church still supported Galen
- some people said that the anatomy was different to Galen’s idea because that particular body was different
Who was Paré?
french barber surgeon in the 16th century (1510-90) - considered the father of modern surgery
How did Paré change medicine?
- adopted the new “scientific methods”
- trained at Hotel du Dieu in Paris
- became army surgeon, at the siege of Milan he ran out of oil for cauterisation - mixed egg yolk, turpentine and oil of roses to dress wounds - less painful more successful
- used ligatures to tie off wounds after amputation (rather than cauterisation)
- invented “crow’s beak clamp” to halt bleeding of blood vessels
- developed artificial limb
- Les Oeuvres 1575 used by barber surgeons in England - even used by queen’s surgeon William Clowes
What book did Paré write?
Les Oeuvres 1575
What did Paré use instead of oil for cauterisation?
egg yolk, turpentine and oil of roses
What did Paré invent and what did it do??
Crow’s beak clamp - halted bleeding of blood vessels
Where was Paré trained?
House du Dieu in Paris
Who used Paré’s book?
barber surgeons in England including the Queen’s surgeon - William Clowes
How did Leonardo da Vinci change medicine
Studied the human body and represented it in drawings and paintings (more advanced than the wound man)
When was Galen’s work republished and in which languages?
1525 in greek and latin
How did Harvey change medicine?
- “On the Motion of the Heart” challenged Galen
- experiments on cold-blooded amphibians (slow blood flow) led to the discovery that blood pumped around the body in a circular motion
- one experiment showed blood flowing in a patient’s heart, proved that it was impossible to produce too much blood
- proved that heart worked as a pump
- long term useful for understanding heart/kidney disease
What opposition did Harvey face?
- Galen supporters rejected his findings - capillaries weren’t seen for another 60 years
- didn’t like his use of experimentation
- “crack pot” ideas and that he was a quack
Who was Sydenham?
“the english Hippocrates” 17th century (1624-1689)
Why did Harvey use cold-blooded amphibians in his experiments on circulation?
Because blood flows slowly so it can be observed
What book did Harvey write?
On the Motion of the Heart
When were capillaries discovered?
60 years following Harvey’s discoveries on the heart
How did Sydenham change medicine?
- member of Parliamentary Army in the English Civil War
- 1663 set up at physician in London
- believed in observation
- successfully treated man with ague (malaria) with cinchona bark from a tropical tree
- came up with successful treatment of smallpox “cool therapy” - fluids, moderate bleeding and keeping cool
Why did people think Sydenham was eccentric?
he claimed it was best not to treat a patient unnecessarily
What could Sydenham treat successfully?
ague and smallpox (“cooling therapy” - echoes of 4 humours w bleeding, fluids and keeping cool)
Where did Sydenham work?
in the English Civil War as a member of the Parliamentary Army
Who was John Hunter?
- 18th century doctor who specialised in childbirth
- became army surgeon in 1760 in Severn Years War
- Surgeon to King George III
- “father of scientific surgery”
How did John Hunter change medicine?
- dealt with gunshot wounds and amputation, settled the idea that gunshot wounds were poisoned
- leave as much as possible to nature (for deep wounds)
- teacher of anatomy, set up large practice - trained Jenner - dissected bodies and accused of “burking”
- 1767 experimented on himself and took 3 years to recover
- experiments on animals led to successful treatment of people
- On Venereal Disease (1786) translated into many languages
- huge specimen collection of 3,000 dead animals, fossils, organs etc
- studied blood flow by inflating blood vessels with wax
Who was good at removing bladder stones in the 18th century?
Chesleden of St Thomas’ Hospital could remove a bladder stone in less than a minute (1720s) - shows improvement of surgeon’s skills
What were the limitations in surgery in the 18th century?
- no anaesthetics (wine and opium used but could be dangerous)
- high death rates - Pepys was so relieved at surviving a bladder stone op that he celebrated the date for the rest of his life
When did Hunter experiment on himself?
1767 experimented on himself and took 3 years to recover
Who was Hunter’s student?
Jenner
What book did Hunter write?
On Venereal Disease (1786) translated into many languages
How large was Hunter’s specimen collection?
collection of 3,000 dead animals, fossils, organs etc
What were the changes in the status and training of surgeons in the 18th century?
- 1811 - surgeons had to have attended at least one course in anatomy and one in surgery
- 1813 - had to have minimum 1 year experience in hospital to become a surgeon
What did Johanna St John do?
- successful remedies and cures from London
- wrote book of recipe of cures
- (Lady Johanna St John)
What did Nicholas Culpepper do?
- Complete Herbal 1663
- served as apprentice to an apothecary and set up his own shop where he treated for free
What new ingredients were becoming common for treatments in the early modern period?
- rhubarb - known as “wonder-drug”
- Chinchona - used for everything
- Opium - from China as a pain relief
- Tobacco - used in many remedies - smoking as way to keep plague away
Who were quacks?
people who sold medicine knowing it wouldn’t work - took advantage of people who didn’t have medical understanding - false claims
What was Daffy’s Elixir?
- sold my a quack - allegedly cured convulsion fits, agues, piles, fits etc
- a laxative that didn’t really help that much
What were the most common ingredients in quack medicine?
alcohol and opium as they numbed pain
What was important for quack medicine?
good packaging and marketing e.g. “Turlington’s Balsam of Life” given a royal patent by George II in 1744
What were Foundling Hospitals?
- Coram opened the first foundling hospital 1741
- for abandoned children
- spent 10 years raising money to open the hospital
What were Voluntary Hospitals?
- funded by inheritances to fill gap left by closed monasteries
- often attached to medical schools
- nurses still untrained
- 1720-50, 14 new hospitals opened
- St Luke’s treated mentally ill
- London’s Lock Hospital treated STDs
- 1800 London’s Hospital treated 20,000 per year
How many people did London’s Hospital treat?
20,000 per year by 1800
Which hospital in the Early Modern Period treated STDs?
London’s Lock Hospital
How many new hospitals opened during the 18th century?
1720-50 - 14 new hospitals
What happened in 1621?
1621 - Burton published study of mental illness - recommending fresh air, exercise, music and laughter
What happened in 1671?
1671 - Midwives Book by Sharp incl. anecdotes and knowledge used by many
What happened in 1698?
1698 - Floyer published “A Treatise on Asthma” - causes and treatments of clean air
What happened in 1724?
1724 - Cheyne “An Essay on Health and Long Life” - thought obesity was hereditary and caused by poor lifestyle and people should take responsibility of own health
What happened in 1753?
1753 - Lind came up with cure for scurvy - killed more british sailors than warfare - drunk lime juice everyday as a cure
How many british sailors were killed by scurvy?
british sailors killed by scurvy more than warfare
What is the background of smallpox?
- 17th century 30-60% of victims died
- survivors sometimes blind and left with scars
- 1796 - 35,000 killed
- Queen Mary died of smallpox 1694
- people thought it was caused by miasma
How many smallpox victims vied in the 17th century?
30-60% of victims
How many people died in the smallpox epidemic in 1796?
1796 - 35,000 died
Who died of smallpox?
Queen Mary
Who discovered the smallpox inoculation? (important)
Lady Mary Montagu 1721 - mild form of smallpox introduced to a scratch - meaning people became immune to the disease - her inoculated children survived when epidemic hit
What did Jenner do? (important)
- heard rumours that milkmaids with cowpox never caught smallpox
- injected 9 year old with cowpox pus - became immune
- submitted paper to the Royal Society in 1797 but told he needed more proof
- experiments on own 11 month old
- 1798 “A Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of Cow-Pox”
- 1802 - £10,000 reward from government and further £20,000 when physicians confirmed how effective it was
What were the negative reactions to Jenner’s vaccination?
- Physicians who charged £20 per inoculation were angry at the new development
- people thought Smallpox was God’s punishment and that it was wrong to limit the spread
When were smallpox vaccinations made compulsory?
1853 for infants
When were smallpox vaccinations made free for infants?
1840 - following epidemic which killed 42,000
When was an anti-vaccine league set up and why?
1866 - to oppose to compulsory smallpox vaccinations
When was a fine introduced and lifted for parents who opposed smallpox vaccination?
1871 - fine introduced
1887 - fine lifted (as death rate had drastically fallen)
What was Jenner’s vaccination significant in the long term?
polio, measles, diphtheria and whooping cough almost all eliminated due to vaccination programmes
What is the background to the 1665 plague?
1664 - 30% of York died
How many people died from the 1665 plague?
100,000 - doctors and wealthy people fled
What did people think caused the plague in 1665?
- miasma - plague doctors wore nose cone of sweet-smelling herbs
- evil spirits - wore amulet to ward off
- beginning to make links between dirt and disease - wore thick waxed gown
- that it spread person to person
What did people do to try and prevent the 1665 plague?
- animals to be kept outside city
- kill cats and dogs
- no strangers in city unless they had certificate of health
- fires lit in streets, bodies burnt
- public entertainment to be stopped
- rubbish from street cleared
