history medicine

Question 1

what ideas did medieval doctors believe in

Answer 1

the ideas of Hippocratic and Galenic methods and treatments

Question 2

who was Hippocrates

Answer 2

He was a doctor born in Greece in about 460 BC. He developed the idea of the four humors

Question 3

what was the theory of the four humors

Answer 3

this was the idea that the human body was made up of four substances: Blood, Phlegm, Black bile and yellow bile and it was believed that one of these humors being out of balance is what caused illness

Question 4

who was Galen

Answer 4

Galen was a Roman doctor born in 129 AD he developed the theory of opposites which was an idea about how people could be treated using the four humors

Question 5

why where Galens works on anatomy not usefully for learning about the human body


Answer 5

His work on anatomy was based on dissecting pigs so lots of his findings weren’t accurate when referring to humans

Question 6

what did medieval treatments consist of

Answer 6

medieval treatments used a combination of supernatrual treatments such as prayer and astrology and natural treatments (encouraged by Galen and Hippocrates) such as bloodletting and herbal remedies

Question 7

how did doctors take the four humours into account when trying to help patients

Answer 7

doctors treatments where attempts of supporting what the body tried to do itself for example if someone had a bloody nose they belivied that this was the body’s was of removing excess blood so they would use a treatment like bloodletting

Question 8

who provided treatment in medieval times

Answer 8

monasteries provided care for people in their local area their treatments where based of prayer and herbal remedies
private physicians who had been trained at university could be afforded by wealthy people
barber surgeons where often used by the less wealthy they would often use herbal treatments and could perform small surgeries such as pulling teeth

Question 9

how did Christianity effect the development of medicine in the medieval period

Answer 9

the church supported the teachings of Galen as he believed in a single God which was in line with Christian beliefs.
the Christian church controlled the teachings in university so the ideas of Galen where continued to be taught and believed. questioning the ideas of Galen was not encouraged this ultimately hindered the development of medicine

Question 10

what did Christians believe when it came to treating people

Answer 10

they believed that it was there duty to care for the sick like Jesus did but not cure them as it was thought illness was a punishment from God so curing illness would be going against God’s wishes

Question 11

what did Islam say about treating illness

Answer 11

unlike Christians Muslims where encouraged to seek out new cures for diseases

Question 12

who was ibn sina

Answer 12

he was an influential Islamic doctor who wrote the book “the cannon of medicine” in 1025 which helped spread new ideas of human anatomy and encouraged natrual treatments

Question 13

what was trepanning

Answer 13

this was a procedure where a hole was drilled into someones skull to let out “bad spirits”

Question 14

why did surgery progress during the medieval period

Answer 14

This was because the number of wars across Europe, such as the Crusades, gave surgeons many patients on whom to experiment with new techniques.

Question 15

what was Cauterisation

Answer 15

cauterisation was a process used to stop bleeding. It involved heating a piece of iron in a fire and pressing it onto a wound. This would seal the blood vessels, but it also risked a severe burn and caused pain for the patient

Question 16

what where aesthetics like during the medieval period 


Answer 16

surgeons experimented with using things like opium and alcohol as aesthetics however these where hard to get correct doses for most surgeries took place without any aesthetics

Question 17

what was the black death 


Answer 17

in 1348, the a plague called the Black Death arrived in England. Up to half of Europe’s population was killed by the Black Death.

Question 18

what where some things belived to cause the balck death 


Answer 18

Miasma was believed to be a cause. This was the theory that bad air spread disease.
people where also very religious back then and belived it to be be a punishment from god

Question 19

how did some people try to cure/prevent the black death 


Answer 19

some people called flagellants would whip themselves as they belived this was showing god that they where punishing themselves for their sins
Miasma theory led people to carry herbs or flower petals, so they could avoid the smell of the streets.

Question 20

what were the consequences of the black death 


Answer 20

The Black Death had a devastating impact. Up to half of the population of Europe was killed. The focus of medicine was finding effective cures and treatments for the disease. However, when the plague broke out again in 1665, similar ideas were used to deal with it.

Question 21

what helped medicine to develop during the renaissance


Answer 21

During this period, ancient ideas were revisited and challenged. This resulted in discoveries in many areas

Question 22

what helped spread new medical ideas during the renaissance


Answer 22

In 1440, Johannes Gutenberg had invented the printing press. This meant that when new ideas were written down, they could quickly be copied many times and communicated to people across Europe.

Question 23

who was Andreas Vesalius 


Answer 23

Andreas Vesalius was born in 1514 in Brussels, Belgium. At university Vesalius was able to study human bodies closely using dissection. This gave him the opportunity to explore how the body worked and understand the roles of different organs

Question 24

what did Vesalius write 


Answer 24

Vesalius is best known for his book “On the Fabric of the Human Body”, published in 1543. This was an extremely detailed and accurate guide for doctors on how the human body worked.

Question 25

what did some of Vesalius’ discoveries show 


Answer 25

Some of Vesalius’ discoveries proved that Galen had made some mistakes.

Question 26

How was Vesalius significant in the short term 


Answer 26

In the short term, Vesalius’ work was significant as he had proved that Galen had made mistakes. This encouraged other doctors to question other ideas and theories Galen had produced.