Medicine stands still Flashcards
Why were causes of illness unknown?
- doctors at the time lacked the scientific knowledge required to understand the cause of disease
- Medical training was to read church approved texts such as Galen
How did supernatural beliefs dominate treatments?
- The Doctrine of Signatures was followed. It taught that God had the power to create illness and guided doctors on treatments
- Doctors used zodiac charts to decide treatment and when to operate
How were natural treatments used?
- Doctors and woman healers had a good knowledge of how to use herbs to treat illness
- Breathing problems or eye infections were treated with such balms
- Doctors used urine charts to diagnose disease
How did Hippocrates influence diagnosis and treatment of illness?
- Hippocrates taught that clinical observations was very important and this still underpins medicine today
- His theory of the four humours said that the body consisted of four humours tat had to be balanced for good health.
- Many doctors followed this theory
- It influenced medicine until the 1800s
- Bleeding was used to prevent or treat illness. It involved opening a vein or applying leeches to draw blood
- The Hippocratic collection of books were used to train doctors for hundreds of years. They are significant as they provided the first detailed account of symptoms and treatments
How did Galen’s ideas dominate medical training and treatments through to the 1800s?
- Galen built on the theory of the four humours
- To learn about human anatomy, Galen dissected animals which meant he made errors. His errors were accepted because the church banned people from questioning his work
- The church liked Galen’s work as it supported the design theory and Galen called God the ‘creator’
How did the Church play a significant role in medicine?
- Christianity taught that God sent illness as a punishment for their sinful behaviour. To treat their illness, people had to repent for their sins. As a result, prayer was a popular treatment
- The church controlled the universities where doctors trained. Teachings were based on ancient texts written by Hippocrates and Galen
- The church banned medical research and human dissection. Roger Bacon was sent to prison by church leaders for advocating scientific observation
Why were medieval hospitals small and mainly a place for people to rest and recover from illness?
- Hospitals were linked to monasteries or nunneries
- There were no doctors. Monks and nuns provided nursing care and mainly relied on prayer and herbal treatment
- Hospital wards had altars where prayers were said regularly
Why was Islamic medicine and training significantly more advanced than the christian west?
- Islamic doctors wrote medical encyclopedias. Their ideas were spread to Britain by crusaders
- Islamic philosopher and doctor, Avicenna, wrote the cannon of medicine which remained an important text for medical students until the 1700s
- Islamic hospitals treated patients and also trained dotors
How did warfare helped surgeons improve their skills?
- Improved skill in sealing wounds. Quicker amputations
- New tools, including the arrow cup
- Improved ointments (John ardene’s painkiller)
- Sharing through manuals or diagrams such as the ‘wound man’
How was surgery dangerous?
- Medieval surgery was very dangerous - there was no way to prevent blood loss, infection or pain. It was therefore only attempted rarely and for very minor procedures
- There were a few university trained, highly paid surgeons but surgery as a whole was not a respected profession in medieval times - most operations were carried out by barber surgeons.
Describe how some progress was made in surgery?
-Hugh of Luccia and his son Theodoric worked as surgeons in Italy in the 13th century. They recognised the importance of practical experience and observation, and questioned some of Galen’s ideas - their thoughts appear in Theodoric’s textbooks
- They began dressing wounds with bandages soaked with wine because they noticed that the wine helped to keep wounds clean and prevent infection
- They also realised that pus was not a healthy sign, unlike doctors at the time who might try to cause wounds to pus as they believed it will release toxins from the body
-Some surgeons tried to find ways to reduce pain during operations. Eg; John of Ardene created a recipe for an anaesthetic in 1376
Why did towns do little to improve public health?
- At a local level: most people believed it was not their role to ensue good hygiene for others
- At a national level: the king’s role was to protect people from invasion not prevent disease
Public health in medieval towns
- Regulation was not part very effective because the cause of illness was unknown
- Most tonws had poor sanitation
- Bath houses were available. But only for those who could afford them
- Some regulations were introduced but only in response to epidemics such as the black death. For example, Coventry established wast disposal sites
Why did monasteries have superior public health systems?
- Monks were literate so they were more informed about public health than most people
- Monks regarded a fresh water supply as a priority when designing monasteries
- Monasteries were wealthy so they could afford to build infrastructure like latrine buildings and waterways to keep their water clean
- Monastery populations were small and had one leader who had the power to enforce rues about cleanliness and disposal
How did monasteries have superior public health systems?
- Used setting tanks to purify water
- Stored water in wells or resevoirs
- Kitchen separated from privies to limit contamination
- Bathing was compulsory everyone expected to have 4 baths a year
- Planned water supply - fresh running water pipe to wash rooms and sewers took away dirty water
