Medicine-Ancients Flashcards
Who treated people in prehistoric times?
Women, medicine men
What did prehistoric people believe caused illness and disease?
Evil spirits
How did the Prehistoric’s lifestyle affect medicine and health?
Nomadic-moved around so didn’t stay with their waste, diet (fresh fruit and veg), exercise
How did Prehistoic people treat illness?
Charms, chants, herbal remedies, trepanning
What factors helped the Ancient Egyptians to make progress in medicine?
Technology, communications, way of life, religion, government
How did Egyptians treat illness?
Herbal remedies, prayers, charms, chants
Who treated illness in Ancient Egypt?
Specialist doctors (developed because the Pharaoh had money to train doctors), women, Priests
What was the source of Egypt’s wealth?
The River Nile, trade with other countries
What was the Channel Theory?
They believed blood flowed through channels in the body and sickness was caused by rotting food blocking the channels
Why was the Channel Theory important?
It was one of the first times people looked for a natural cause of illness rather than supernatural causes.
How did religion help medicine in Ancient Egypt?
Their religion told them they needed to be clean. They washed with soap, women shaved, they wore make up that reduced eye infections. They also embalmed their dead so they learnt about the anatomy of body.
Which Greek doctor told others to observe their patients?
Hippocrates
What did Hippocrates do?
Four humours, observation and recording, Hippocratic oath, Hippocratic collection of books, natural treatments
What were the four humours?
Blood, black bile, yellow bile, phlegm
Who was the Greek God of healing?
Asclepious
What happened at an Asclepion?
Sleep, bathe, pray to the Gods, be visited by Asclepious, exercise, eat properly
Where was the great library and university set up by the Greeks?
Alexandria
Who treated the sick in Ancient Greece?
Women, magicians and trained doctors
Why is the theory of the four humours important to medicine?
It lasted for thousands of years. It was also a step forward because it looked at natural causes and treatments for illness.
Give two factors that affected Greek medicine?
Technology, individual genius, attitudes: enquiry.
Who was the famous Roman doctor (started as a gladiator doctor)?
Galen
What did Galen do?
Theory of opposites, proved the brain controlled the body and not the heart, observation, wrote a great deal of books.
What animal did Galen carry out his famous experiment on?
A pig
Why was public health important to the Romans?
They believed in prevention rather that cure of illness. They knew healthy people would work harder and support their empire.
Name three changes to public health made by the Romans
Aqueducts, public toilets, public baths, public water fountains, sewers.
What did they believe caused illness in Ancient Rome?
Unbalanced humours, gods.
Name two factors that helped develop medicine in Ancient Rome?
Individual genius, governments
Why did ideas from the Greeks and Romans last for over 1500 years?
They fit in with religious ideas, Galen’s ideas fit with the Catholic Church so they promoted them.
How did war help the Romans?
Carried out battlefield surgery, set up hospitals
What is public health?
This is where governments provide systems to protect the people from disease.
