Medical Progress Flashcards
What was ‘The House of Wisdom’?
The world’s largest library and a study centre for scholars
Which city became a centre for the translation of Greek manuscripts into the language of Islam (Arabic)?
Baghdad
What books were preserved in the ‘House of Wisdom’?
Hundreds of ancient Greek medical books by Hippocrates and Galen
Why did Islam encourage medical learning and discoveries?
The Prophet Muhammad said, ‘For every disease, Allah has given a cure’. So doctors were inspired to find them
How were people with mental illness treated in the Islamic Empire?
Treated with kindness and compassion
What were Muslim hospitals called?
Bimaristans
What was the focus of bimaristans, in contrast to Christian hospitals?
Treating patients, not simply caring for them
How many books did Al-Razi write?
Over 150
Why was medicine in the Islamic world so much more advanced than in the Christian world?
Their faith encouraged Muslim doctors to develop new ideas and treatments, compared to in England where doctors would risk arrest if they questioned Galen
What diseases did Al-Razi distinguish between for the first time?
Measles and smallpox
What was Al-Razi’s view on Galen?
Followed him but was willing to build upon and criticise his work. One of his books was ‘Doubts about Galen’
Name Avicenna’s book
Canon of Medicine
What was the Canon of Medicine and what information did it include?
A great encyclopaedia of ancient Greek and Islamic medicine. It listed the medical properties of 760 different drugs
What evidence is there for the Canon of Medicine’s success?
It became the standard European medical textbook used to teach doctors in the West until the 17th century
Where did medieval surgeons learn?
Watching and copying other surgeons, or on the battlefield
State 4 reasons why medieval surgery was risky for the patient
• Surgeons operated without painkillers • no idea that dirt carried disease
• thought pus in a wound was a good sign
• could not help patients with deep wounds
Name 4 common medieval surgical procedures
Bloodletting, trepanning, amputation, cauterisation
What is bloodletting and why was it done?
Draining blood from the body. Done to balance the 4 humours
What was trepanning and why was it done?
Drilling a hole into the skull to ‘let the demon out’ e.g. for epilepsy
What was cauterisation and why was it done?
Burning a wound to stop the flow of blood using a heated iron
What anaesthetics were used in medieval surgery? What was the problem with them?
Mandrake root, opium, and hemlock. No knowledge of different doses needed for different patients, and too much might kill them
What common view did Hugh of Luca and his son Theodoric criticise?
That pus was needed for a wound to heal
What new idea did Hugh of Luca and his son have about infection?
Used wine on wounds to reduce the chances of infection
Why didn’t Hugh of Luca’s idea of using wine on wounds catch on?
- Clashed with Hippocrates
- Were unable to explain why it worked as there was no knowledge of germs
- Opposed by De Chauliac
