Medicine - Medieval Flashcards
What dates was the medieval period ?
1250-1500
What period was 1250-1500 ?
The medieval period
Name 3 reasons why the Catholic Church was so powerful in the Medieval period
Every town had a Church, majority of people attended, People in Church could read and write
What did the Church discourage ?
Dissections
Where were books written ?
In monasteries by Monks
Why is it significant that books were handwritten ?
It limited the information available for physicians
Whose ideas did the Church support and why ?
Hippocrates and Galen’s as their ideas supported the Bible
Where were physicians trained ?
In universities run by The Church
What did religious people believe the cause of disease was ?
A punishment from God or God testing a persons faith
Examples of sins that were believed to cause illness
Gambling, excessive drinking, blasphemy
Name a common disease linked to sin
Leprosy
Name 4 ways religious people tried to prevent disease
Praying regularly, fasting, pilgrimages, flagellation
What would the sick touch to cure illness ?
Holy relics (pilgrimages to tombs)
Why did some people not treat disease ?
As they thought it would be against God and they would go to Hell
What was the first hospital in England and when was it founded ?
St Bartholomew’s, 1123
How many hospitals were in England by 1400 ?
Over 500
Who ran the Hospitals ?
The Church
Did the hospitals have doctors ?
No only a priest with monks and nuns
Did hospitals let people with infectious diseases in ?
No
Who did hospitals mostly accept ?
Old, sick, traveling people
What did hospitals focus on ?
CARE NOT CURE !!
What was care like in hospitals ?
Patients given food and warmth, offered prayers and Mass 7 times a day
Who created the idea of the four humours ?
Hippocrates, a Greek doctor
What was the theory of four humours ?
The idea that the body contained 4 humours ; yellow bile, black bile, phlegm, blood
What was the theory of miasma ?
The idea that dirt and waste from the streets poisoned air which caused illness
What did King Edward III say relating to miasma ?
“The filth from the houses is infecting the air with contagious sickness” during the Black Death
What did people believe miasma was caused by ?
God, alignment of the planets
Name 3 ways people prevented miasma ?
- carried sweet smelling herbs in a pomander
- rang bells
- allowed birds to fly around their house
What was Regimin Sanitis ?
Instructions written by physicians for healthy living
What did Regimin Sanitis include ?
Avoiding stress, exercising, eating a healthy diet, bathing regularly
Who used Regimin Sanitis ?
Only used by the rich
Name 2 ways people rebalanced the 4 humours
Bloodletting and purging
Name 3 types of bloodletting
Cutting, leeches, cupping
What did people believe humours were created from ?
Food eaten
What are the 2 types of purging ?
Emetics, laxatives
What did emetics do and name an example ?
Make the patient vomit
Scammony, aniseed, parsley
What did laxatives do and name an example ?
Make the patients shit
Strong herbs/ flowers, line seeds
Who created the theory of opposites ?
Galen, a Roman doctor
What was the theory of opposites ?
The idea that if you had too much of one humour you could cure it with the opposite of it
Give an example of a meal used regarding the theory of opposites
Blanc Mangier (chicken and almonds)
Warm and moist
Name the 4 humours
Yellow bile, black bile, phlegm, blood
According to the theory of opposites, how could you cure a cold ?
By eating a chili (hot and dry)
Name a common herbal remedy
Therica
What was therica ?
A spice based mixture that could contain up to 70 ingredients
Name some ingredients in therica
Ginger, saffron, viper flesh, opium
Who wrote a book about therica ?
Galen
What were the ingredients in the medicine used to cure a stye ?
Onions, garlic, bulls gall, wine in a brass vessel
Why did the cure for a stye work ?
The onions, garlic, gall killed bacteria and the wine (which contains acetic acid which reacted with the copper in vessel and produced copper salt) also killed bacteria
Name the 4 main types of care givers in the medieval period
Physicians, barber surgeons, wise women, apothecaries
What did physicians do ?
Diagnosed illness and suggested treatment
How long did physicians train at university ?
7 years
Who used physicians ?
Only the rich
How many physicians were in England 1300
Fewer than 100
What did physicians believe ?
Books were better than experience
What book did physicians carry ?
Vademecum (book of diagnosis)
How did physicians use urine charts ?
To check the colour, smell and taste of urine to check for illnesses
Who carried out the majority of surgeries ?
Barber surgeons
How did barber surgeons train ?
- did not go to uni
- learned through doing apprenticeships and reading books
What simple surgeries did barber surgeons do ?
Bleeding, removing surface tumors, sewing wounds, making splints for broken bones
What complex external surgeries did barber surgeons do ?
Amputating limbs, removing bladder stones, using fine needles to remove cataracts in eyes
What diagram did barber surgeons use to identify how to treat injuries ?
Wound man
Who saved Henry V and how ?
John Bradmore saved him by designing a tool that could remove an arrow that had struck Henry’s cheek
How did barber surgeons make patients drowsy ?
Used herbs such as hemlock or opium
What did surgeons use to clean wounds ?
Wine, vinegar, honey
What were problems regarding surgeries in the medieval period ?
- no internal surgeries
- little knowledge on anaesthetics
- antiseptics didn’t stop infection
- heavy bleeding resulting in death
Where were most people treated and cared for ?
At home
What gender could be midwives ?
Women (some had licenses and were paid)
Who was not allowed to be physicians ?
Women
Could women become surgeons ?
Yes, by working as apprentices
What did apothecaries do ?
Mixed and dealt with herbal remedies
Where did apothecaries learn ?
From other apothecaries
What did apothecaries sell ?
-lucky charms and amulets
- hand mixed medicines
- Different ingredients
What did supernatural people think caused disease ?
Spirits, the alignment of the planets, stars, sun, moon and witchcraft or bad luck
What were some prevention methods used relating to the supernatural ?
- lucky charms/ amulets to provide good fortune
- recited incantations to ward of disease bringing spirits
What was the treatment for toothache ?
Wearing a magpies beak around your neck
What was trepanning ?
Drilling into the skulls of patients to release demons or spirits
What was a zodiac chart ?
A chart to know when to avoid treating each part of the body (moon in Pisces = no feet)
When was the Black Death ?
1348
How long did it take for a person to die after being infected with the bubonic plague ?
3-5 days
Symptoms of the Black Death
Buboes, blisters, fever, severe headaches, vomiting, fits, unconsciousness, death
Name 2 religious ideas on the causes of the Black Death ?
- God creating a punishment for sin in the world
- Jews poisoning the water supply
What did the Prior of Christchurch Abbey say in 1348
Plague was created by God who used “suffering to drive out the numberless sins of the people”
Name 5 ways people religiously prevented getting the Black Death ?
- services in churches
- lit candles as offerings for God
- people fasted
- people went on pilgrimages
- flagellants whipped themselves
Name 2 ways people religiously treated the Black Death
- asked God for forgiveness
- continued to live a Christian lifestyle
Why did some people believe there was no cure for the Black Death ?
As it was God’s will that the patient should die
Where did, people during the Black Death think, miasma originated ?
Poisonous fumes released from an earthquake or volcano
Name 3 “rational ways” people used to prevent getting the Black Death
- avoiding bathing
- pomanders
- escaping
Why did people avoid bathing during the Black Death ?
Because they thought water would open up their pores and expose them to the disease
What did Chauliac advise people to do during the Black Death ?
He advised people to “Go quickly, go far, and return slowly”
Why were aloe and myrrh used to treat the Black Death ?
They were believed to have cleansing qualities
Name 2 things people did to buboes to try and cure Black Death
Lanced them
Rubbed onion, herbs, chopped snake on them
What did people drink/eat to try and cure Black Death ?
Vinegar, and ate crushed minerals, arsenic, 10 yr old treacle
Name 2 ways people tried to treat Black Death involving fire ?
- people lit fire/ boiled vinegar to drive miasma away
- people sat near a fire to drive out the fever
Name some ways public health improved after the Black Death
- laws on littering and location of latrines
- stone cesspits, public latrines, night carts
- 12 rakers by 1370 London
- Glouster aqueducts for fresh water
Name a believed supernatural cause of the Black Death
1345 an unusual positioning of Mars, Jupiter, Saturn which was interpreted that something terrible/ wonderful was going to happen
Name a supernatural way people prevented getting the Black Death
Holy charms/ luck amulets to ward off dangerous spirits
