Medical Renaissance in England Flashcards
c1500-c1700
Continuity in explanations of causes of disease
-Relied on texts for looking up symptoms
-In times of epidemics people believed in astrology and wore charms to ward off disease.
-During epidemics religious causes returned
-Still believed in the idea that disease was spread by bad smells and evil fumes
-Microscopes didn’t pick up enough to prove all new theories
-Still used the Four Humours when diagnosing disease because patients understood it
Changes in explanations of causes of disease
-Physicians carried out more observations of patients
-Astrology was less popular in 1500
-There was better understanding of human anatomy and this was helped by Renaissance artists at the time who took more interest in drawing the body e.g. William Harvey’s new theory (1628) was that blood was pumped around the body rather than being made in the liver
-Urine charts were no longer being used by Physicians as Van Helmont found that disease was not caused by eating the wrong thing
-Many people realised that God didn’t send disease. Vesalius had challenged the Catholic church
-Very few Physicians believed in the theory of the Four Humours
-Microscopes were being developed
-More experimentation took place and more people found proof that Galen had been wrong
-Sydenham wrote OBSERVATIONS MEDICAE
Thomas Sydenham and improving diagnosis
-Wrote OBSERVATIONS MEDICAE 1676
-Refused to rely on medical books for diagnosis
-Observed patients symptoms closely
-Categorised disease into groups
-Theorised that the nature of the patient had little to do with the disease
-Able to identify measles and scarlet fever were separate diseases
-Sydenhams work was important in moving British medicine into a new era as the Four Humours was losing popularity during this time
Press Printing
-Broke the control of the Church: they didn’t have to go through the Church or have it translated by Monks. Therefore, the Church couldn’t prevent criticism of Galen’s ideas
-This meant new ideas could be printed, freedom to print. This meant that new ideas could be printed quickly and in larger amounts and spread wider
Royal Society (1660+)
-Scientists could talk and share ideas, challenge each other and share discoveries
-Shared and spread discoveries: Published the world’s first scientific journal called PHYSILISOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS which helped to spread new ideas
-Reference library
-Supported by the King
Physicians
-Continued to train at university from books and observations
-New subjects were introduced such as Iatrochemistry and anatomy. Physicians were inspired to challenge the old teachings and investigate for themselves
-Still very little practical hands on training. Dissection, which had once been banned by the Church was legalised due to the decline in the power of the church
-Few universities had as anatomy theatre as most thought it was only necessary for surgeons
-Trainee doctors had much better access to medical textbooks due to the press printing
Apothecaries and Surgeons
-Apothecaries continued to mix remedies and surgeons continued to carry out simple operations
-Education increased for both. With wars being fought with new technology meant that more surgery was needed in the battlefield
Both had to have a licence to practice their trade.
-Surgeons continued to provide services to those unable to afford Physicians
Hospitals
HOSPITALS:
-During the Renaissance period, people mainly went to the Hospital for wounds and diseases. People didn’t spend long in hospital so they must have got better
-Treatment they got from the hospital:
*A good diet
*A visit from a physician to observe symptoms and prescribe treatments
*Medication-many hospitals had their own pharmacies and apothecaries to mix the medicines
-When King Henry VIII split from the Catholic Church, many hospitals closed as they were connected to the Church. However, a small amount of Hospitals were funded by charities so they stayed open
PEST HOUSES:
-New type if hospitals that specialised in one disease. There were some in the Middle Ages (lazar houses for people with leprosy))
-However, people realised that disease could be spread from person to person so they opened more specialist hospitals
COMMUNITY CARE:
-Most people were still being treated at home like the middle ages.
-Both rich and Poor women were still the main people caring for the sick. They usually mixed herbal remedies to purge the body or cure an ailment.
-They were very popular and cheaper than going to a licenced physician or apothecary
Changes in Treatment
-As more people practiced alchemy, people looked for Chemical cures
-New theory: Transference- meant that illness could be transferred onto something else E.g. you could get rid of warts by rubbing them on onions
-Medical Chemists used Pharmacopeia Londinensis - 122 chemical remedies
-New herbal remedies started to appear from other countries
Continuity in Treatment
-Bleeding, purging and sweating were still all used to remove too much of a particular humour
-Herbal remedies were still very popular
Continuity in prevention
-People believed you could avoid disease by practicing moderation in all things. As well as avoiding draughts, exhaustion and rich and fatty foods
-People continued to use the Regimen Sanitatis
-People took more steps to remove miasmata from the air
-Cleanliness was still important
Changes in prevention
-People believed that the condition which you were born was related to the cause of disease
-Believed certain weather conditions would cause disease. New instruments like barometers and thermometers were used to measure and record weather conditions to see if there was link to disease and weather
-Bathing became a lot less fashionable in England since syphilis spread. Instead of baths people rubbed themselves down with linen an changed their clothes regularly
Vesalius
-Studied Medicine in Paris
-Criticised Galen’s work:
*Vena Cava didn’t lead to the liver
*Human jaw was in one part, not two
*Men didn’t have one fewer pair of ribs then women
-Wrote DE HUMANI CORPORIS FABRICA
-Noted 300 errors in Galen’s work
-Carried out lots of dissections and encouraged other doctors to do so rather than believing old books
-Laid the foundations for others to investigate the body in more detail
William Harvey and the Circulation of blood
-In 1628, William published a book called ‘ANATOMICAL EXERCISE ON THE MOTION OF THE HEART AND BLOOD IN ANIMALS’ which was a ground breaking book about circulation
-Harvey proved Versalius’ theory
-The heart acted as a pump for blood
-Blood was not made in the liver
-Discovered there was a difference between the arteries and veins but they were all linked together in one whole system
-Veins only carried blood
-Discovered the circulation of blood- directions and heart valves
The Great Plague in London 1665: TREATMENT
-Prayer and fasting
-Quack doctors
-Herbs in the form of medicine
-Transference
-‘Lord have mercy’
-Sweating
