Medical progress in the middle ages Flashcards
How did the influence of christianity affect the preserving of knowledge?
Monk made copies of books so that doctors in the middle ages could learn from the ideas of people like Galen.
How did the influence of christianity affect knowledge about the cause of disease?
People believed God caused illness, so they didn’t look for other causes.
How did the influence of christianity affect Treatments?
They believed that if illness was a punishment for sin it meant that there was no need to develop other treatments. You just had to be more religious, pray more and commit fewer sins.
How did the influence of christianity affect education and training ?
The church controlled universities where physicians trained. The church liked Galens ideas because they supported the Christian belief that God created human beings. Physicians learnt from Galen’s ideas and where punished if they tried to challenge them or started to do their own research.
How did the influence of christianity affect caring for the sick
The Christans taught that sick people should be looked after. This led to many hospitals being set up. However they still believed god caused illness so they would “ care not cure” the sick because it was up to God if you got better or not.
Who set up and run the hospitals ?
The christian Church- hospitals were set up in monasteries
Who provided the medical care ?
Mostly Nuns
Who did they treat?
Rarely the sick
Mainly the poor and elderly
How were patients treated?
mainly prayer , rest and food.
some herbal remedies.
How many hospitals were there ?
500 by 1400
But they were small and house about 10
patients in each.
How did Islamic doctors and surgeons influence the development of medicine and surgery in Britain ?
They helped preserve ideas of the Ancient Greeks and Romans.
They wrote medical encyclopaedias which carefully organised medical knowledge so the work from people from the past, like Galen c, could be studied.
They also added their own research. The work of key individuals were translated into latin and used in medical school in England to train Physicians.
Who were the Islamic doctors?
Al- Razi ( or Rhazes)
Al-Zahrawi ( or Albucasis)
Ibn sina
What did Al- Razi do ?
He wrote over 59 books based on the ideas of Hippocrates and Galen, aswell as Chinese and Indian sources. His books were used for centuries after his death. They emphasised the importance of the physician carefully diagnosing the illness.
What did Al-Zahrawi do ?
He produced a 30- volume encyclopaedia of medical practices. His book “ The chapter on surgery” was translated into latin and was widely used in Europe. His work included illustrations and 200 surgical instruments
What did Ibn dina do ?
He wrote “ The canon of medicine” - it became the main medical text book for physicians in Europe during the middle ages.
It described over 700 drugs and medicines and their used, and how to diagnose diseases.
What were barber surgeons and how did they treat people?
They offered blood-letting, tooth extractions and amputations, aswell as hair cuts and shaves.
They could also remove small tumours under the skin.
They did no do complex surgeries inside the body.
What is the acronym to remember the problems the surgeons of the middle ages faced?
P- ain
I- nfections
L- oss of blood
E- nvironment
How was pain a
problem surgeons faced?
There was no effective way to relieve pain during an operation, some surgeons tried to use herbs such as opium or hemlock to make a patient drowsy . However if too big of a dose was given to a patient it could kill them.
How was infection a problem surgeons faced?
Wine, vinegar or honey were used to clean wounds, yet this did not stop the spread of infections.
How was the loss of blood a problem surgeons faced ?
Large cuts were
e sewn up and often cauterised ( closing of wounds by sewing them with a burning iron). This was to prevent blood loss because if a patient lost too much blood they would die.
How was environment a problem surgeons faced?
Surgeons did not have clean rooms to operate in and germs could be spread easily in that type of environment. They also did not wear mask, gowns or gloves.
What new method did John Bradford ( a royal surgeon) introduce ?
He designed a new forced to remove an arrowhead.
He did this to save the life of Henry, prince of Wales when he was wounded during battle, after an arrow passed through his check and lodged in the bottom of his skull
What new method did Guy de Chauliac ( a French surgeon ) introduce ?
He had a book that told surgeons how to carry out blood letting and cauterisation, as well as how to treat cataracts , hernias and bone fractures.
He was heavily influenced by the work of islamic doctors.
