early modern period Flashcards
what was the renaissance?
- a time of continuity and change - saw emergence of science
- western doctors gained access to original writings
- church lost power during the reformation as protestant Christianity spread in the 16th century
who was Vesalius?
- medical professor in Italy - known as the father of modern scientific anatomy
- in 1543 - published ‘the fabric of the human body’ - had perfectly executed illustrations of body
- allowed to carry out dissections on executed criminals - meaning illustrations accurate
- found around 300 mistakes in Galen’s works - including no holes in the septum of the heart
what was Vesalius’s short-term impact?
encouraged others to question Galen - because of his questioning attitude doctors realised there was more to discover
what was the long-term impact of Vesalius?
- allowed many new discoveries and breakthroughs in anatomical studies
- helped dissection to be legal
- stressed practicality of surgery rather than book learning
what were the consequences of the Renaissance?
- invention of the printing press - allowed new ideas to be spread + old ideas to be discussed and questioned
- new inventions like gun powder meant more wounds for surgeons to experiment with
who was William Harvey?
- discovered blood circulated around the body
- realised Galen was wrong about the liver producing blood - he found that the heart acted as a pump
short-term impact of Harvey?
- one of the first to question Galen
- not everyone believed his theories & people continued to perform bloodletting + purging - as he tried to overturn galens teachings
- labelled a quack by many doctors - despite this he released “on the motion of the heart and blood” - presented his ideas in this gave doctors a map of how the body worked
- this, in short-term, equipped the surgeons who did believe Harvey
the long-term impact of Harvey?
- his work led to the eventual discreditation of Galen’s ideas
- as well as use of leeches, bloodletting, purging and many more ways of ‘balancing humours’
- blood tests, blood transfusions + transplants would not be possible
who was ambroise pare?
- french barber-surgeon
- despite unpleasant procedures he carried out - clear from his writings he cared deeply about his patients - link to church
- when he ran out of cautery oil he discovered by chance the use of yolk and rose oil as an ointment to heal wounds
- discovered use of ligatures
what was the short-term significance of pare?
- Surgeons across Europe read Works on Surgery and Queen Elizabeth I’s surgeon promoted Paré’s discoveries - less using cauterisation
what is the long-term significance of pare?
- pioneer in surgical techniques
- fathers of surgery
- paré also seems to be the first person to have fitted prosthetic (artificial) limbs on his patients - still used today
how was the renaissance a time of continuity?
- many doctors reluctant to accept Galen as wrong
- bloodletting, purging continued
- doctors tended to focus more on reading books than on treating patients
- doctors still expensive - had to result in barber-surgeons + apothecaries
how were superstition and religion still important in the renaissance?
people thought the king’s touch could cure scrofula - thousands visited king Charles I
what was the limitation of the printing press?
most people could not read or write so new ideas could only be shared within a small part of society
similarities of how people reacted to the black death and the great plague?
- many treatments for the GP - based on superstition - lucky charms - prayer + fasting
- bloodletting used
- some people also thought miasma caused disease - posies of herbs + flowers
- no national government attempts at prevention
how did the plague show change?
- plague victims isolated
- crowded areas closed
- responses came from local councils - did more to combat the GP than they did for the BD previously 300 years ago
how did doctors’ training and knowledge begin to improve?
- many doctors in Britain trained at the college of physicians set up in 1518 - read books by Galen but also studied recent medical developments
- they gained license which separated them from quack doctors
- dissections became a key part of medical training in 1700s
who was john hunter?
- surgeon and scientist
- made important medical discoveries - learned more about venereal disease - major cause of illness at the time
- introduced new approach to gunshot wounds
- in 1785 - introduced a new way to treat an aneurysm
long-term significance of john hunter?
- significant due to his contributions to anatomy as well as scientific research
- remembered for encouraging better approaches to surgery, learning about the body, experimenting and testing
- Hunter also helped to improve understanding of human teeth, bone growth and remodelling
- concepts perhaps not understood now - & things like dentistry not as advanced
- methods improving the way people conducted scientific research as a whole
when was the early modern period?
1500 - 1800
how did hospitals change from the 18th century onwards?
- treating disease became more important rather than just caring for patients
- charity hospitals were opened - funded by the rich + offered largely free treatment to the poor
- dispensaries provided free non-residential care to the poor
- 19th-century hospitals founded ex. kings’ college hospital - used as training schools for doctors + to conduct scientific research
who was Florence nightingale?
studied to become a nurse in 1849 - despite opposition from her family
what is the short-term significance of Florence nightingale?
- using methods she learnt from her training in Europe- ensured all wards clean + hygienic, water supplies were adequate + all patients fed properly
- improved the barrack hospital a lot - before she arrived death rate 42% after 2 years fell to just 2%
what is the long-term significance of Florence nightingale?
- 1859 - published ‘notes on nursing’ - explained her methods + emphasised the need for professional attitude and hygiene
- helped nursing become more disciplined
- set up the nightingale school of nursing - nurses given 3 years of nursing before they could qualify
what was smallpox like before edward jenner?
- 1700s - smallpox one of the most deadliest diseases
- 1751 - over 3500 people died from it in london alone
- only way to prevent smallpox inoculation
what was inoculation?
involved making a cut in the patient’s arm and soaking it in pus taken from the swelling of someone who already had a mild form of smallpox
who was Edward Jenner?
- discovered link between smallpox and cowpox
- heard that milkmaids didn’t get smallpox but they did catch a much milder cowpox
- using careful scientific methods - investigated + discovered that it was true that people who had cowpox didn’t get smallpox
- published his findings in 1798
how did Edward Jenner test his theory?
injected a small boy with the pus from the sores of a milkmaid with cowpox - Jenner then infected him with smallpox - he didn’t catch the disease
how did edward jenner get opposition?
- people were worried about getting a disease from cows
- some doctors who gave the older type of inoculation saw it as a threat to their likelihood
- when vaccination became compulsory in 1853 several groups were formed to campaign against it
what did parliament do for jenner?
- 1802 - parliament gave jenner £10,000 to open a vaccination clinic - gave him a further £20,000 a few years later
- 1840 - vaccination against smallpox made free for infants
- 1853 - vaccinatons cumpulsory
how was vaccination a success?
contributed to a big fall in the number of smallpox cases in Britain
what is a negative about Jenner?
- Jenner didn’t know why this vaccine worked
- lack of understanding meant he couldn’t develop any other vaccines
- only possible after germ theory - when Pasteur + others worked hard to discover vaccines against other diseases
what is the short-term significance of Jenner?
smallpox one of the biggest killer diseases in the 18th century - killed 30% of those who caught it - now its wiped out
who was Louis Pasteur?
- french chemist - proved that spontaneous generation was wrong
- proved that there were germs in the air - showed that sterilised water in a sterilised flask stayed sterile but sterile water in an open flask bred germs
when did louis pasteur publish his findings?
- 1861 - published his germ theory - argued that microbes in the air caused decay not the other way round
what else did pasteur publish?
- in 1867 - Pasteur published evidence proving there was a link between germs and disease by demonstrating that germs caused a disease in silkworms
what did the germ theory help?
- inspired joseph lister to develop antiseptics - carbolic acid - lister thought germ theory might explain surgical infection
- theory confirmed john snow’s findings about cholera
- linked disease to poor living conditions - put pressure on govt to pass 1875 public health act
significance of Louis Pasteur as an individual?
determined scientist despite suffering a stroke and losing his daughter to typhoid
who was Robert Koch?
german doctor who applied Pasteur’s germ theory to human diseases - founder of bacteriology
what was koch’s work?
- his work went against the view that most germs were similar
- identified the microbe responsible for anthrax in 1876
- identified the deadly cholera germs in 1884
what were robert koch’s methods?
- discovered dyes to stain specific microbes so they stood out in front of a microscope
- Koch’s team helped to train many young scientists to use his methods
what are factors that helped pasteur and koch?
- war - franco-Prussian war - rivalry
- government - both pasteur and koch had a laboratory and a scientific team paid for by their governments
- chance - accidental use of weakened chicken cholera germs gave the chickens immunity when infected with fresh strong germs; Pasteur inadvertently demonstrated how vaccines could give immunity + prevent disease
- communication - news of Pasteur’s vaccine against anthrax spread by electric telegraph
