Key Words - Medieval Medicine 1000-1450

Question 1

Why was the average age of death of British males low in the medieval times and 17th Century?

Answer 1

Because of warfare

Question 2

What were common remedies made from?

Answer 2

Herbs, plants, minerals, and animal parts

Question 3

Why did some cures work, even though they did not understand why?

Answer 3

The ingredients included chemicals which acted as antiseptics to combat infections or as anaesthetics

Question 4

What were cuts and wounds treated with?

Answer 4

Plants

Question 5

What were broken bones treated with?

Answer 5

Covered in clay or mud and then set

Question 6

What were fever, pain and chills all treated with?

Answer 6

Steam

Question 7

What were illnesses and injuries believed to be caused by?

Answer 7

Gods, spirits, the dead, or their enemies

Question 8

What was trephining?

Answer 8

Drilling a hole in a patient’s head (when they have a headache), to let out the spirits

Question 9

What would the medicine man do?

Answer 9

Give people charms to protect them from evil spirits, as well as prayers an chants and some also carried out trephining

Question 10

What are the main ‘factors’?

Answer 10

War, individuals, superstition and religion, education, trade and communication, government, chance, science and technology

Question 11

What are the 4 humours?

Answer 11

Blood, phlegm, yellow bile (vomit), black bile (poo)

Question 12

Who encouraged doctors to observe symptoms and to look for causes based on those symptoms?

Answer 12

Hippocrates

Question 13

Who was Hippocrates?

Answer 13

The ‘father’ of modern medicine

Question 14

What are the 4 elements?

Answer 14

Air, Fire, Earth, Water

Question 15

What season and element was blood related to?

Answer 15

Air —> spring —> blood

Question 16

What season and element was yellow bile related to?

Answer 16

Fire —> summer —> yellow bile

Question 17

What season and element was black bile related to?

Answer 17

Earth —> autumn —> black bile

Question 18

What season and element was phlegm related to?

Answer 18

Water —> winter —> phlegm

Question 19

If someone had a cold (using the opposites theory) what would the cure be?

Answer 19

Hot bath + pepper

Question 20

If someone was ill in the spring (using the opposites theory) what would the cure be?

Answer 20

Let blood (leeches) or eat something cool

Question 21

What did Galen prove?

Answer 21

~ the brain, not the heart, controlled speech

~ the arteries, and not just the veins, carried blood around the body

Question 22

Who created the opposites theory?

Answer 22

Galen

Question 23

Why was Galen accepted by the Church?

Answer 23

He didn’t go against religion - he taught that the body had been created by one god, who made all the parts of the body fit together perfectly and he referred to the ‘creator’

Question 24

Who was around during the Ancient Greek times?

Answer 24

Hippocrates

Question 25

Who was around in the Roman Empire?

Answer 25

Galen

Question 26

What did the Roman’s realise?

Answer 26

That dirt = disease

Question 27

What is the biggest change for the medieval times to modern?

Answer 27

We have understanding of diseases

Question 28

What would be found in a medieval doctor’s bag?

Answer 28

Willow bark, urine chart, astrological chart, honey, cobwebs, moss, snails, leeches

Question 29

What would the willow bark be used for?

Answer 29

To dull pain and reduce fever anti-inflammatory

Question 30

What would the urine and astrological charts be used for?

Answer 30

Work out what was wrong and decide the right time to operate on a particular body part

Question 31

Why would the honey be used?

Answer 31

Antibiotic properties

Question 32

What would the cobwebs be used for?

Answer 32

To stop bleeding by packing wounds with them

Question 33

What would moss be used for?

Answer 33

Dried moss absorbs fluid and has antibiotic properties

Question 34

What would snails be used for?

Answer 34

Snail slime contains antioxidants, antiseptics, anaesthetics, anti-inflammatory etc

Question 35

What would leeches be used for?

Answer 35

To let blood

Question 36

Medieval Physicians

Answer 36

~ today = doctor
~ only very wealthy would use them
~ would have received an education at one of the universities

Question 37

Medieval Surgeons

Answer 37

~ inferior to physicians
~ weren’t seen as proper doctors
~ similar reputation to barbers
~ belonged to Company of Barber Surgeons

Question 38

Medieval Barbers

Answer 38

~ inferior to surgeons
~ weren’t seen as proper doctors
~ belonged to Company of Barber Surgeons
~ only allowed to perform minor operations (eg. Pull teeth, let blood)

Question 39

Medieval Apothecary

Answer 39

~ today = chemist / pharmacist
~ usual route to visit
~ belonged to Grocer’s Guild (professional body)
~ sold sweets, cosmetics, perfumes, drugs

Question 40

Medieval ‘Wise Woman’

Answer 40

~ local
~ often first person contacted by poor people
~ used various herbs to produce home made medicines and potions

Question 41

Who set up and ran their own hospitals?

Answer 41

Monks and nuns

Question 42

Where were universities and hospitals usually situated?

Answer 42

Attached to the Church

Question 43

Why were the doctors usually monks and nuns?

Answer 43

They were the few people who were educated