Medicine 1500- 1700

Question 1

what changed in the renaissance period on ideas on the cause of disease

Answer 1

reduced influence of the church and an increased scientific approach to diagnosing illness

Question 2

what things continued into the renaissance period from medieval medicine

Answer 2

miasma was still accepted as a cause fro diseases especially during epidemics
the theory of the four humours but throughout the 1700 century fewer physicians believed in it

Question 3

what did Thomas Sydenham write in his book observationes medicae

Answer 3

to observe patients and record symptoms in detail
the disease had nothing to do with the nature of the person with it
to treat disease as a whole rather then individual symptoms

Question 4

who was the ‘English Hippocrates’ and why

Answer 4

Thomas Sydenham for his influence on doctors

Question 5

when was the printing press invented

Answer 5

1440

Question 6

what was the royal society, what did it do and who set it up

Answer 6

the royal society was created for scientists to come together to discuss new ideas, demonstrate experiments, publish books/articles by King Charles II

Question 7

what was the royal society’s motto

Answer 7

Nullius in verba = take nobody’s word for it

Question 8

how did hospitals change in the Renaissance period

Answer 8

they began treating more sick people rather then travellers and pilgrims and had their own apothecaries to mix medicines and physicians to visit patients

Question 9

what kind of methods of treatment from the middle ages were still used in the Renaissance period

Answer 9

traditional herbal remedies 
bleeding and purging
cleanliness
superstitions and prayer
healthy living

Question 10

how were most people treated in the renaissance period

Answer 10

by women of the home/village because physicians were expensive

Question 11

name two changes in prevention and treatment

Answer 11

alchemy - cures using metals and minerals

new herbal remedies from newly discovered countries appeared in England and some were effective

Question 12

name two areas were there was limited impact

Answer 12

the ideas were slow to be accepted

the discoveries did not improve the understanding of the cause of disease

Question 13

give three reasons why Andreas Vesalius and his work were important for the advancement of medicine in the renaissance

Answer 13

improved the understanding of human anatomy
he proved some of Galen’s ideas e.g. jaw bone is made up of 1 bone not 3 like Galen said by dissecting a human body
his work was published throughout Europe which included detailed illustrations of the human anatomy, these were copied into medical textbook

Question 14

what year did the great plague break out in

Answer 14

1665

Question 15

the beliefs about the cause of the great plague were mostly the same as the black death
name three differences

Answer 15

miasma was most commonly believed as a cause
fewer believed it was caused by the four humours
people knew that it can be passed from person to person

Question 16

name two treatments for the great plague that were different to the black death

Answer 16

the theory of transference meant people tried to transfer their disease to something else, especially birds , such as chickens
they thought people could sweat the disease out, so infected were wrapped up in thick blankets and put by the fire

Question 17

name three ways the government tried to prevent the plague from spreading by the orders of the king

Answer 17

theatres were closed and large gatherings were banned
dogs and cats were killed
streets were regularly cleaned and carts drive by everyday to collect the dead bodies to be dumped and buried in mass graves

Question 18

who and what were the plague doctors

Answer 18

physicians who treated victims of the plague, they wore costumes to prevent catching the disease, the mask had sweet smelling herbs for the physician to breath in against miasma and coats coated with wax so that nothing from the patient could be absorbed

Question 19

what did William Harvey discover

Answer 19

the circulation of blood

Question 20

what did Harvey prove wrong

Answer 20

found that blood flowed towards the heart in one way

also he proved that the liver didn’t produce blood

Question 21

how did Harvey disprove Galen

Answer 21

he dissected human bodies and used new technology such as the mechanical water pump which showed that blood only flowed one way

Question 22

what else did Harvey discover

Answer 22

arteries and veins were part of one system and that blood was pumped around the body by the heart

Question 23

name three reasons why Harvey was important

Answer 23

he disproved some of Galen’s theories which have been around since the ancient times, this encourage others to questions them too
he improved knowledge about how the body worked and passed the knowledge on
his discoveries left many unanswered questions which encouraged further experiments