Medicine in the Renaissance c.1500-1700 Flashcards
what does renaissance mean
re-birth
ideas about the cause of disease
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
Thomas Sydenham
categorised different illnesses
told doctors to observe their patients and record their symptoms
laid the foundations for future scientific breakthroughs
why were new ides able to be shared more easily
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
ideas that were the same as in medieval times
miasma
astrology
4 humours
ideas that were different to medieval times
god didn’t send disease
animalcules - bacteria discovered
stopped suing the theory of the 4 humours as much
what did Thomas Sydenham encourage doctors to do
record their symptoms
write down observations
what did Thomas Sydenham think caused disease
external not inside the body
4 humours was incorrect
why was Thomas Sydenham work important in the long term
laid foundations for individuals to a take scientific approach to medicine
who was Thomas Sydenham
He used scientific methods to decide what was wrong with his patients
Approaches to treatment
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,
hospitals
- 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
why did the numbers of hospitals in England go down
the reformation, during which Henry VIII closed down Englands monasteries and the majority of hospitals were in monasteries
Physicians
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
Surgeons
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)
Apothecaries
now had a license to trade
role remained the same as in medieval times, though they could now used ingredients from the new world
Andreas Vesalius
made new discoveries about human anatomy, published his ideas in a famous book called ‘On the Fabric of the Human Body’
how did Vesalius prove Galen wrong
found around 300 mistakes in galens work
what factors helped Vesalius
able to perform dissections
highly detailed drawings
what impact did versalius have
people used his research to understand the human body
William Harvey
discovered the circulation of blood
heart acts as a pump -one way system
how did William Harvey prove Galen wrong
Galen said blood was made in the liver
what factors helped William Harvey
able to carry out disections
inspired by new technology (water pump)
King physician so he had credibility
what impact did William Harvey have
he wrote a book ‘On the motions of the heart and blood’
Approaches to prevention
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
what did people think caused the great plague
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
what new treatments did people try to treat it and prevent it
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
other treatments for great plague
diet advice- fasting herbal remedies religious Purifying the air government orders- quarantine laws, stray animals killed, public meetings and fairs were banned plague doctors
the Renaissance was a period of ….. , ….. and ,,,,, ,,,,,
learning, exploration and new ideas
people were relying on a less religious and supernatural belief and instead were looking for a more …. …
rational explanation
The power of the church declined as a result of the …. in 1530s.
Reformation
why was the reformation bad for hospitals
it meant the majority of them had to close down
new medical knowledge could be spread more easily thanks to the … … and the work of the … society
printing press , royal
influential individuals who made new discoveries about the body and encouraged a more scientific approach to medicine
Sydenham
versalius
harvey
what did the influential peoples ideas do
their new ideas challenged old theories and laid the foundations for furture progress
old treatments such as humoural were still used yet other new ideas were also practised such as
transference
medical chemisty
the …. now took a much bigger role than before
government
similarities from the previous period
- 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
improvements form the previous period
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
