Medicine - Medieval

Question 1

what did most people believe was the cause of illness?

Answer 1

God sent them as a punishment for sin and were a test of someone’s faith

Question 2

What did physicians use to help decide what disease or illness someone had?

Answer 2

Star charts, urine charts

Question 3

A common belief in medieval England was that illness was caused by an imbalance of the four humours in the body. If blood was thought to be out of balance, then people would carry out bloodletting.
This treatment might involve:

Answer 3

• cutting into a vein
• using leeches
• placing heated cups over a cut or scratch

Question 4

if an ill person was believed to have too much phlegm (demonstrating characteristics that were cold and wet), they would be given which treatment?

Answer 4

they would be given a treatment that was hot and dry, such as eating a hot pepper.

Question 5

What did barber surgeons do?

Answer 5

carry out basic surgery, such as bloodletting, sewing up wounds and removing growths from the outside of the body

Question 6

What were many treatments made from?

Answer 6

The most common treatments were made from herbs, minerals, plants and animal parts

Question 7

What were apothecaries?

Answer 7

like a modern-day chemist, they understood both the healing and poisonous properties of plants and herbs and made and sold their treatments

Question 8

What did the Church do during medieval times?

Answer 8

-had a large role in training doctors and providing health care in infirmaries

Question 9

Did the Church support Galen’s ideas?

Answer 9

Yes

Question 10

How did Churches treat the sick?

Answer 10

• prayer
• going on pilgrimages
• used plants such as peony and balsam

Question 11

What did Al- Razi do?

Answer 11

• helped plan the building of a hospital in Baghdad
• Like Galen, he believed in the importance of observation and seeking natural causes of illnesses.
• Al-Razi was the first person to work out the difference between smallpox and measles.
• He wrote over 200 books, which were translated into Latin and used to teach in many universities across Europe.

Question 12

What did Ibn Sina do?

Answer 12

• He wrote many books, the most well-known of which was The Canon of Medicine, completed in 1025.
• The Canon of Medicine explored ideas about anatomy and human development, and it encouraged natural treatments.
• He is known for being one of the first doctors to build on the works of Galen and not just copy them.

Question 13

What was unique about Islamic hospitals?

Answer 13

Had separate wards for different illnesses

Question 14

What was trepanning?

Answer 14

a procedure where a hole was cut in the top of someone’s skull. This was thought to allow ‘bad spirits’ to escape the body

Question 15

What was cauterisation?

Answer 15

a process used to stop bleeding. It involved heating a piece of iron in a fire and pressing it onto a wound. This would seal the blood vessels.

Question 16

What were anaesthetics like in Medieval times?

Answer 16

Experimented with, usually made from herbs. However, most surgeries didn’t use them, and patients were instead held down.

Question 17

Who was John Bradmore?

Answer 17

When the King’s son was shot in the cheek by an arrow, Bradmore invented the “Bradmore screw” which safely removed the arrowhead

Question 18

Describe Medieval hospitals

Answer 18

They were attached to monasteries and ran by monks and nuns, very few had doctors or surgeons. The Church set up over 160 hospitals between 1100-1300. Some had strict rules about who they would let in. More about CARE than Cure.

Question 19

Why were monasteries important?

Answer 19

During this period, there was no free health care provided by the government. Monasteries gave people free care when they were in need.

Question 20

Who gave the treatments in monasteries?

Answer 20

Treatment and care were given by monks and nuns, rather than trained physicians.

Question 21

What were conditions like in monasteries?

Answer 21

generally cleaner and more hygienic than those in towns. Monasteries often had a supply of running water, as they were usually built near a river. The river would be used to carry away sewage and provide clean drinking water.

Question 22

What were conditions like in towns? (7 points)

Answer 22

• rivers/ streams used for waste disposal
• Toilets were located in a small shed outside, with a cesspit underneath to dispose of sewage
• Open drains led to sewage overloads
• rich areas- streets swept by servants
• poor areas- streets stank and full of litter
• houses close together
• limited access to clean water

Question 23

What year was the Black Death?

Answer 23

1348

Question 24

What were the symptoms of the black death?

Answer 24

buboes (swelling) in the armpit or groin, chest pains and a fever.

Question 25

How did people believe the black death was caused?

Answer 25

imbalance of the four humours, miasma (bad smells), planets, punishment from God

Question 26

How was the black death treated?

Answer 26

Confession of sins or prayer
Smelling strong-smelling herbs, sweet-smelling flowers or lighting a fire
Bloodletting or purging (eg vomiting or use of laxatives)

Question 27

How did people try to prevent the Black Death?

Answer 27

Strangers were not allowed to enter a village.
Local authorities stopped cleaning the streets because they believed the smells from the waste would drive away any bad air.
Events that attracted large crowds, such as religious processions, were banned.

Question 28

What was a lazar house?

Answer 28

A hospital for those with the infectious disease leprosy.