MEDICINE IN BRITAIN: 1250-PRESENT Flashcards
MEDIEVAL MEDICINE: PREVENTION
- disease could be prevented by living a life free of sin
- Prayers, confessions, tithes
- Regimen Sanitatas
- Keeping air clean and sweet smelling
MEDIEVAL MEDICINE:
HEALERS
- Physicians: trained in universities using works of Galen and Hippocrates
- Apothecaries: herbal remedies
- barber surgeons: least qualified but highly skilled. Carried out bleeding, pulling teeth and small operation.
MEDIEVAL MEDICINE: TREATMENTS
- 4 humours theory
- blood letting (cupping veins, leeches, cupping)
- purging (emetics and enemas)
- herbal remedies
- bathing with herbs
- praying, fasting, pilgrimages, self flagellation
MEDIEVAL MEDICINE: INDIVIDUALS AND INSTITUTIONS
- Galen and Hippocrates
- Church promoted Galen
- Christian church was the most powerful institution
- unacceptable to question church
- taught that God sent illness
BLACK DEATH REACTIONS
- miasma: sweet smelling herbs and pomanders
- punishment from God: pilgrimages, praying, flagellants
- 1348
- bleeding, purging, emetics (4 humours)
- quarantine
- herbal remedies
- ran away (rich people)
GREAT PLAGUE REACTIONS
- doctors
- cross of the door
- prayer and repentance
- government action: banned public gatherings
- 1665
- killed cats and dogs
- diets
- burning tar on streets
- transference
- cleared streets
- sweet smelling herbs
- wardens
- quarantine
PROGRESS IN RENAISSANCE:
YES:
- weakening of the Catholic Church
- experiments/science
- Harvey: circulation of blood
- Vesalius: anatomy illustrations
- printing press: ideas were able to spread
- Royal society
- Thomas Sydenham: disease, questioned the four humours
PROGRESS IN RENAISSANCE:
NO:
- miasma: Great plague
- Vesalius and Harvey did not make people better
- Herbal remedies
- continuation
- physicians still relied on Galen/textbooks
- Harvey ideas were criticised
- iatrochemistry: bad impact on health
- People still used religion as an explanation and treatment
PREVENTION 1700-1900:
The 1875 public health act:
Drinking water, sewage, food etc were placed under local authorities and strictly enforced.
PREVENTION 1700-1900:
LOUIS PASTEUR:
Germ theory- 1861
Made a link between germs and infections
Published in 1878
Built on Jenners work .
Accidentally created a weak form of chicken cholera which worked as a vaccine.
PREVENTION OF DISEASE 1700-1900:
EDWARD JENNER
Used germ theory to produce a method for finding out which germ caused which disease.
Led to scientists/doctors to look for ways of curing disease.
Koch used Pasteur’s chicken cholera vaccine to develop new vaccines e.g. TB.
PREVENTION OF DISEASE 1700-1900:
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE:
Improved hospital hygiene in the crimean war.
Used this knowledge to improve hospitals in Britain.
Made nursing a respectable profession.
PREVENTION 1700-1900:
JAMES SIMPSON:
Pioneered chloroform as an anaesthetic
Safer alternative to ether and nitrous oxide
Pain had been conquered
PREVENTION 1700-1900:
JOSEPH LISTER:
Used carbolic acid to create antiseptic surgery
Reduced death rate for many surgical procedures
Aseptic surgery developed
PREVENTION 1700-1900:
EDWARD CHADWICK:
campaigned to improve public health
1875 compulsory public health act passed
