Medicine in the Renaissance c.1500-1700

Question 1

what does renaissance mean

Answer 1

re-birth

Question 2

ideas about the cause of disease

Answer 2

religious- people recognised now that god did not send disease
astrology
miasma - still widely believed
the 4 humours - some top physicians began to challenge this theory yet most ordinary people still believed it
new ideas- discovered bacteria yet didn’t know what it did or if it caused disease

Question 3

Thomas Sydenham

Answer 3

categorised different illnesses
told doctors to observe their patients and record their symptoms
laid the foundations for future scientific breakthroughs

Question 4

why were new ides able to be shared more easily

Answer 4

the printing press
the royal society- group of scientists who met up and carried out experiments
the decline of the church - church became less influential , dissections became more common

Question 5

ideas that were the same as in medieval times

Answer 5

miasma
astrology
4 humours

Question 6

ideas that were different to medieval times

Answer 6

god didn’t send disease
animalcules - bacteria discovered
stopped suing the theory of the 4 humours as much

Question 7

what did Thomas Sydenham encourage doctors to do

Answer 7

record their symptoms

write down observations

Question 8

what did Thomas Sydenham think caused disease

Answer 8

external not inside the body

4 humours was incorrect

Question 9

why was Thomas Sydenham work important in the long term

Answer 9

laid foundations for individuals to a take scientific approach to medicine

Question 10

who was Thomas Sydenham

Answer 10

He used scientific methods to decide what was wrong with his patients

Question 11

Approaches to treatment

Answer 11

Transference- idea that someone could get rid of their disease by transferring int to an object or animal
Herbal remedies
chemical cures- doctors used metals such as mercury to purge the body, as they encouraged sweating and vomiting
Humoural treatments- most ordinary people still believed this theory yet others started challenging it
Hospitals- focused more on treating patients not just making them feel comfortable,

Question 12

hospitals

Answer 12

• focused more on treating patients not just making them feel comfortable
• many employed physicians
• new type of hospital was set up ‘pest houses’ to deal with contagious plague victim, while others continued to be funded by charity

Question 13

why did the numbers of hospitals in England go down

Answer 13

the reformation, during which Henry VIII closed down Englands monasteries and the majority of hospitals were in monasteries

Question 14

Physicians

Answer 14

still learned mostly from books
they were taught some new ideas about anatomy and chemistry
hands on treatment was still considered to be a surgeons job

Question 15

Surgeons

Answer 15

dissections were now allowed although finding a corpse to work on was hard
now had a license and were able to learn about the body from detailed drawings called fugitive sheets (made possible by the printing press)

Question 16

Apothecaries

Answer 16

now had a license to trade

role remained the same as in medieval times, though they could now used ingredients from the new world

Question 17

Andreas Vesalius

Answer 17

made new discoveries about human anatomy, published his ideas in a famous book called ‘On the Fabric of the Human Body’

Question 18

how did Vesalius prove Galen wrong

Answer 18

found around 300 mistakes in galens work

Question 19

what factors helped Vesalius

Answer 19

able to perform dissections

highly detailed drawings

Question 20

what impact did versalius have

Answer 20

people used his research to understand the human body

Question 21

William Harvey

Answer 21

discovered the circulation of blood

heart acts as a pump -one way system

Question 22

how did William Harvey prove Galen wrong

Answer 22

Galen said blood was made in the liver

Question 23

what factors helped William Harvey

Answer 23

able to carry out disections
inspired by new technology (water pump)
King physician so he had credibility

Question 24

what impact did William Harvey have

Answer 24

he wrote a book ‘On the motions of the heart and blood’

Question 25

Approaches to prevention

Answer 25

purifying the air - sewage and rubbish cleared from streets
lifestyle advice - regiment sanitatis was still used, avoid too much stress, exhaustion, fatty food etc
role of the government & monarchy - people fined for not cleaning the streets outside their home

Question 26

what did people think caused the great plague

Answer 26

religious & supernatural - god was trying to clear up the kingdom
other people- people realised that the plague was contagious but didn’t know how or why
bad air- miasma caused by sewage and rubbish

Question 27

what new treatments did people try to treat it and prevent it

Answer 27

new treatments- transference, people told to wear warm clothes to sweat out the disease, people tried to catch syphillis thinking it would prevent the disease

Question 28

other treatments for great plague

Answer 28

diet advice- fasting
herbal remedies
religious
Purifying the air
government orders- quarantine laws, stray animals killed, public meetings and fairs were banned
plague doctors

Question 29

the Renaissance was a period of ….. , ….. and ,,,,, ,,,,,

Answer 29

learning, exploration and new ideas

Question 30

people were relying on a less religious and supernatural belief and instead were looking for a more …. …

Answer 30

rational explanation

Question 31

The power of the church declined as a result of the …. in 1530s.

Answer 31

Reformation

Question 32

why was the reformation bad for hospitals

Answer 32

it meant the majority of them had to close down

Question 33

new medical knowledge could be spread more easily thanks to the … … and the work of the … society

Answer 33

printing press , royal

Question 34

influential individuals who made new discoveries about the body and encouraged a more scientific approach to medicine

Answer 34

Sydenham
versalius
harvey

Question 35

what did the influential peoples ideas do

Answer 35

their new ideas challenged old theories and laid the foundations for furture progress

Question 36

old treatments such as humoural were still used yet other new ideas were also practised such as

Answer 36

transference

medical chemisty

Question 37

the …. now took a much bigger role than before

Answer 37

government

Question 38

similarities from the previous period

Answer 38

• humoral and herbal treatments still used
• methods off prevention were largely the same as medieval times
• still didn’t understand disease leading to large scale deaths like the great plague similar to the black death in medieval times

Question 39

improvements form the previous period

Answer 39

power of the church declined 
printing press
royal society 
people looked for more rational explanations
Thomas sydenham
William Harvey
Andreas Vesalius 
transference/medical chemistry
government took more action