medicine - beginnings of change Flashcards
1
Q
the Great Plague
- when and what
- why did they think it happened
- how did they deal with the plague
- how did it end
A
- 1665, 100,000 deaths in London, which was approximately 25% of the population.
- They believed it was a punishment from God. Poisonous air. Planets. Bills of mortality helped people make a connection between dirt and disease. Poorest and most dirtiest parts had most deaths.
- Plague doctored wore masks, nose cone full of sweet smelling herbs to stop bad smells getting in, gloves and boots. Bodies were removed at night and buried in mass graves at least 6ft deep. People were quarantined, locked in and houses were painted with Red Cross which was more effective. People were smoking to keep bad air away as Tobacco was brought back from exploration and thought to have many health benefits. Gatherings for public events were banned. It shows they had a greater understanding about the spread of disease and how dirt causes disease. They still had some random and weird cures
- Rats developed greater resistance to plague so fleas didn’t need to find human host. Quarantine laws prevented epidemic diseases coming in on ships. Great fire of London killed many flea chariots.
2
Q
Vesalius
- who and beliefs
- how did he do this
- how did he influence others
- how did he challenge Galen
A
- surgeon, 1514-64, believed Galen was incorrect, didn’t publically show G was wrong, he said medical students should learn from dissections.
- dissected human cadavers himself, wrote ‘fabric of the human body’ 1543, very accurate illustrated textbook, 1st truly accurate, based on observations and dissections. He found G was wrong, e.g. G thought humans had 7 parts to breast bone like apes but really it was 3, showed students G was wrong. Showed others how to do proper dissections.
- before people only did dissections to prove G. Geminus copied V’s illustrations and published compendious, manual for barber surgeons in England, meant medical knowledge improved, became more consistent and new procedures could develop, increase in anatomical knowledge. Showed others how to properly dissect, 16th century anatomists followed his approach, Fabricus and Fallopius, used dissects out about specific body parts.
- before Vesalius, dissections only been done to prove Galen was correct people beloved the body was wrong not G, he was criticised for saying G was wrong so had to leave job in Padua. His dissections showed G wasn’t correct.
3
Q
Pare
- Who and what
- how did he do this
- how did he influence others
- impact later
A
- Was a barber surgeon in the late 1500s who developed false limbs, perfected ligatures, and came up with a new ointment to help with cauterisation
- he followed round and army which meant he had many opportunities to test new ideas and lots of his amputated patients needed false limbs. Took Ibnal-Nafis’ idea of ligatures, and ran out of hot oil for cauterisation and created own oil out of rose oil, turpentine and egg yolk
- he mainly influenced barber surgeons. Produced books such as ‘works on surgery’ which included Vesalius’ ideas. They were translated into english at end of 16th century which meant his ideas were going to be printed and spread so his books were cheaper as they weren’t hand written and Vesalius’ ideas were being spread as well. It became very popular that Elizabeth’s royal surgeon used his textbooks
- His ointment helped with infection. His ligatures were too slow in the battlefield and they had no anaesthetic. They became very influential in mid 1800s when anaesthetics were introduced.
4
Q
Harvey (heart guy)
- who and what
- how did he do this
- how was he challenging Galen and reactions
- how was his discovery significant later
A
- mid 1600s, he was an English doctor and the first person to directly to go against Galen. He challenged Galen by saying blood circulated around the body and wasn’t used up like fuel. He also discovered that blood moved from the artery to the veins
- he dissected and studied human hearts and slow beating hearts of cold blooded hearts. Used methodical observations and experiments.
- challenged Galen’s idea about blood and where it came from which challenged the whole of idea of bloodletting and 4 humours as a whole. Lots of people disagreed with his ideas as he couldn’t explain why. It took 50 years for his ideas to be nominated until a powerful enough microscope could see the existence of capillaries. Rioloan was an anatomist at Paris and called him a ‘circulator’ (quack)
- Harvey proved that blood lost would need to be replaced. In 1901, when blood groups were discovered Harvey’s discovery meant blood transfusions could occur and it allows for quick diagnosis and testing and for complicated surgery like transplants
5
Q
Medical treatments 17th and 18th century
- who and what treatments
- what new treatments
- significance of treatments being published
- how did quacks have a negative impact
A
- Barber: simple surgical techniques e.g. amputation; apothecaries provided herbal medicines; wise women provided traditional cures and remedies like the willow tree having aspirin to dull pain; physicians performed more complicated surgeries and diagnosis; quacks were people who invented medicine that didn’t work and kings touch cured scrofula
- new exploration led to lots of new drugs becoming available. Quinine came from the cinchona tree in South America and was used for malaria. Rhubarb came from Asia and acted as a laxative and tobacco was wrongly used to cure lots of disease. John Woodall a barber surgeon used lemon and limes for scurvy. Quacks invented lots of new treatments such as Daffy’s Elixir which was said to cure all common problems like gout
- Nicolaus Culpeper wrote the ‘complete herbal’ in 1653 which meant people could have access to knowledge without expensive physician fees which meant Medical knowledge became more consistent and standardised and more widespread and accessible. ‘Compendiosa’ featured Vesalius’ drawings which was a reference guide for barbers so new techniques are spread and people had greater trust in barbers as they looked better as an organisation due to more consistent knowledge
- quacks meant people had less trust for the medical profession as there was a lot of inconsistency and there were lots of unskilled people giving out incorrect medical advice. This meant people were less likely to go to a doctor and more likely to go to a wise woman
6
Q
Nature of the renaissance
- when and what
- why
- impact
A
- in the late 1400s, it was a period of new learning and change with developments in the arts, literature and science. New scientific method of observations and hypothesises arose. There was more exploration and new inventions like gun powder and the printing press in 1451. Leonardo da Vinci was a famous renaissance scientist and artist.
- Wealthy merchants wanted to find things out so payed scholars to find out if texts were correct. People wanted to question the church and gain new knowledge
- the knowledge spread via books which were now cheaper due to the printing press so more people know have access to medical knowledge for example the ‘complete herbal’. At universities, people used to have listen to the texts but they could now own their own copies. People were now willing to go against the church and challenge as many had lost faith in the church as explorations had shown many different religions. Developments in art meant that the anatomical knowledge was better and much more accurate due to human dissections becoming more common and Galen being questioned.
7
Q
18th Century hospitals
- who built and what types
- why didn’t monasteries run them any more
- what did hospitals have that medieval ones didn’t
- how did they help doctors as a profession
A
- Paid by the rich, e.g. Guy’s Hospital in London (1724), Henry VIII, ‘private subscription’ locals clubbed together to pay, many new were built between 1720-50 5 New in London. General types, St Luke’s for mentally ill, London’s lock hospital for veneral disease, maternity.
- monasteries used to pay for hospitals, Henry VIII Split from catholic, seized the churches wealth when he closed them down and then this meant the hospitals were forced to close and became privately owned.
- used modern methods fewer though illness was a punishment from sin, meant meant more scientific method and evidence based approach. Wards for different diseases which limited spread of disease, recognised that different diseases are treated differently. Larger and more developed, focused more on curing people.
- gave doctors training, criminal bloodies for dissections, exams for doctors. Royal college of surgeons and physicians set up, would work under more experienced physicians and in charity hospitals to gain as much experience and possible. 1858 general medical council set up and all qualified doctors had to register more, so hospitals with 20,000 patients per year had more rules and standards improving health care.
8
Q
John Hunter (giraffe guy)
- Who and what
- how did he gain so much knowledge
- how did his methods of observations mean medicine developed
- why did his ideas gain respect compared with Harvey or Vesalius
A
- 1700s, he was a surgeon to king George III in 1776 and surgeon to general army in 1790. He wrote books of scientific research, in 1771 he wrote about the natural history of the teeth, in 1786 he wrote a book on veneral disease. He put the idea that gunshot wound were poisonous to rest.
- He had a huge collection of specimen, 3000 stuffed or dried animals, plants, fossils, diseased organs and embryos, included a giraffe and 2.3m Giant in 1783. He inflated blood vessels with wax to study blood flow. Started as an assistant in brothers anatomy school.
- demanded careful observation in surgery, in 1767 experimented in himself with gonorrhoea germs. Tried radical surgery in 1785, tied of man’s aneurism instead of cutting leg off, these were enabled to happen due to his careful observations, he gained lots of knowledge and then was able to out findings into practice.
- 1782 he moved into larger house, he could house students, could teach lots of students (e.g. Ed Fenner), Passes in lots of medical knowledge, and also open a museum which meant he could show people his research and proof. Showed general people, so people were less afraid of new discoveries and more accepting.
9
Q
Edward Jenner
- who and what did he do
- where did his ideas come from
- why did Jenner face opposition
- what was the impact (LT and ST)
A
-late 1700s - early 1800s, was a physician, he created vaccination for smallpox which was a deadly virus very infectious, killed 30% of victims, puss filled blisters, left people blind with deep scars. Transformed how people were protected against smallpox, used to be inoculated lots of problems and very controversial, inoculated people could still spread disease, e.g. dose could kill, only for rich.
-smallpox was a deadly disease, biggest killer in 1700s, he heard milk maids who caught cowpox didn’t also have smallpox. In 1776, he gave an 8 year old boy cowpox then gave him smallpox inoculation, 6 weeks later, the boy had no reaction to inoculation.
-published findings in 1798, wasn’t fashionable city doctor, so snobbery against him. Couldn’t explain how it worked, meant people found it difficult to accept. Doctors were priority lots from smallpox inoculations, didn’t want to lose money so disliked it. Attempts to repeat his experiment but failed, this meant people didn’t trust findings and tried to discredit findings. Without smallpox hospital, William Woodville and George Pearson tested cowpox but a patient died because equipment was contaminated.
-in the end it was accepted, he’d proved vaccination through scientific experiment.
Short term: members of royal family vaccinated, changed lots of opinions, very important people. Parliament gave him research grant of £10,000 in 1802.
Long term: less dangerous method of being protected, meant more people were surviving. British government made vaccinations compulsory in 1853, Laisser-faire government interfering with people’s lines, showed fear, how much Jenner was instrumental, very respected Jenner. Contributed to total eradication of smallpox in 1980 which was declared by WHO.
