History of medicine

Question 1

Who developed the first rational way of explaining the causes of disease and what was it called?

Answer 1

Hippocrates, the Four Humours

Question 2

Why did it remain superiorly important in Medieval Britain?

Answer 2

It was a non-religious theory that the Church allowed, it was not an idea that was banned.

Question 3

What new theories developed the Renaissance?

Answer 3

Contagion and that there might be seeds in the air that caused disease.

Question 4

How did Thomas Sydenham, in 1676, challenge the very basis of the Four Humours?

Answer 4

He argued disease was something that attacked the body, not something that happened because of imbalances with in.

Question 5

What did Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek, in 1702, claim he could see through a microscope?

Answer 5

Animalcules on food

Question 6

What theory was increasingly popular for explaining animalcules around 1800?

Answer 6

Spontaneous Generation

Question 7

What year did germ theory get published and by who?

Answer 7

1861 - Louis Pasteur

Question 8

What were the “four principles of germ theory”?

Answer 8

1. Germs are everywhere around us in the air, 2.Germs cause decay, decay does not “spontaneously” generate them, 3.Germs are not evenly distributed, 4.Germs can be killed by heating them up.

Question 9

Who discovered specific germs that causes specific disease?

Answer 9

Robert Koch

Question 10

How did people try to stop bad air (miasma) from displeasing God in Medieval times?

Answer 10

They would burn herbs and incense.

Question 11

What was the name of the guidance given by the Church on staying clean and what did the guidance include?

Answer 11

Regimen Sanitatis - it included a guide on bathing, but making sure to pray beforehand.

Question 12

What methods of preventing illness became more popular during the Renaissance?

Answer 12

Quarantining sick people and avoiding mess / bad air all together.

Question 13

During which century did inoculation become popular in Britain?

Answer 13

During the 18th century, the 1700s.

The name of a popular inoculator was Thomas Dimsdale.

Question 14

When did Edward Jenner discover the Smallpox vaccination?

Answer 14

1796

Question 15

What happened to vaccines after germ theory in 1861?

Answer 15

Other vaccines could be produced why weakening specific germs. For example, Pasteur created the chicken cholera vaccine in 1879.

Question 16

What did people believe about the power of the King’s hands during Medieval times (and, in fact, during the Renaissance too)

Answer 16

As he was God’s representative, he would have the power to heal.

Question 17

Describe as precisely as you can, two popular treatments based on the four humours that were widely used in Medieval times and the Renaissance

Answer 17

Bleeding and purging. Patients would be bled by cutting a vein, using leeches to suck blood or cupping. Purging would involve and enema created by using herbs such as linseed and, in the Renaissance, coffee.

Question 18

Describe the growth of chemical chemistry as a new form of treatment in the Renaissance.

Answer 18

Chemical chemistry was made famous by Paracelsus in 1526 and became more popular in the 1600s. It involved experimenting with chemicals like arsenic, mercury and antimony.

Question 19

What was the name of the book published in 1618 that included details on 122 chemical treatments

Answer 19

The Pharmacopoeia Londinensis

Question 20

What was discovered about antibodies in the late 19th century?

Answer 20

The body created these to fight off disease.

A successful chemical cure would need to be a man-made one of these.

Question 21

Name three chemical cures, in time order, developed in the 20th century.

Answer 21

Salvarsan 606, Prontosil, Penicillin.