Medicine dominated by the Four Humours theory

Question 1

What happened after the fall of the Roman Empire?

Answer 1

Lots of Ancient Greek and roman medical knowledge was lost in the west

Question 2

What did Hippocrates believe the body was made up of?

Answer 2

• 4 humours

- blood, phlegm, black bile, yellow bile

Question 3

What did Galen do to the four humours?

Answer 3

Developed it and believed diseases could be treated using the theory of opposites

Question 4

What did Hippocrates and Galen do with their ideas?

Answer 4

• Both wrote down their beliefs

- They were then translated into latin books, considered important texts by the Roman Catholic Church

Question 5

What was the problem with only following Galen’s ideas?

Answer 5

• some of his ideas were wrong

- he only dissected animals so therefore his anatomy work was inaccurate.

Question 6

What did the beliefs in miasma and the four humours show?

Answer 6

Showed that they assumed disease had a natural cause rather than a supernatural one. Suggests people weren’t powerless against the church and could take action to find cures.