medicine - stands still Flashcards
1
Q
Medieval Beliefs about causes of illnesses and treatments
- Who provided treatment
- what did medieval people think were causing illness
- how were medieval doctors trained
- what issues were there with the teaching
A
- Barber surgeons pulled teeth and performed simple Surgery such as amputation. Wise women were village women they used supernatural charms, traditional, word-of-mouth and herbal treatments. The apothecary was a man who sold wine spices and herbs; medicines. Physicians were used for diagnosis, bloodletting and followed teaching of H and G but were expensive
- God, supernatural, bad smells, 4 humours and every day life. (Expand)
- European medical schools such as the Montipellier and Bologna taught medicine through textbooks based on G and H teachings such as Gilbert Eagle’s compendium of medicine. There were no dissections, they were taught diagnosis through urine charts and 4 humours and treatment through astrological charts and bloodletting with leeches or trepanning
- the teaching was limited as they used really old ideas and the students weren’t allowed to read the manuscripts and criticise G as the church wouldn’t let them. No practical work so G wasn’t challenged and ideas stayed the same. They didn’t interact with patients until they qualified as a physician.
2
Q
Hippocrates and G
- when was he alive and beliefs
- how did he gain his knowledge
- why did islam and church accept ideas
- how did acceptance of ideas hold back development
A
- G; 200 AD, believed in 4 humours, blood was from the liver and used up by the body like fuel. H; 460BC, 4 humours, observation, diet and rest.
- G; animal dissections and practical experience; e.g. 3 years as doctor at gladiator school. H; Ideas from ascelpions; Greek god of asclepia and Greek belief of diet rest and cleanliness
- G; monotheistic belief and referred to the creator throughout which fitted with Christian ideas. H; Islam didn’t have any other ideas to base research off due the big gap in knowledge after the fall of the Roman Empire in 6AD
- H; meant ppl were observing and not performing dissections. The observations did lead to medical progress e.g Al Razi distinguishes small pox and measles for the first time. Still take Hippocratic oath. G; was accepted by the church so couldn’t go against his ideas as this was seen as going against the church, church had up huge influence on peoples lives but G had drawn wrong conclusions as he had dissected animals not humans
3
Q
4 humours
- what was the theory?
- Who creates and promoted this idea?
- How did Islamic culture ensure its survival in medieval times
- what does it show about lack of development
A
- that the body contains blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile, and disease was caused by them being out of balance. Some were hot e.g. blood which caused hot disease like fever. Some were cold e.g. phlegm which caused illnesses like melancholin
- H created it and G developed it further and they both believe they always needed to be in balance
- Islam’s wrote texts about these ideas. E.g. Avicenna wrote the canon of medicine which included greek ideas like the 4 humours and became standard European textbooks until the 1600s
- 4 humours were about 1800 years old when used in medieval times; using same ideas.
4
Q
Christian Church
- what did they believe about G, dissections and hospitals
- why did they accept G and not allow dissections
- why did they contribute to medicine standing still
- how did lack of dissection and unquestioning support hold back medicine
A
- they supported G theory of 4 humours, didn’t rly support dissections and only performed them to prove G was correct and controlled the hospitals and they believed doctors were to comfort sick by predicting symptoms and duration.
- G referred to the creator and was monotheistic this fit with their teachings. Didn’t allow dissections as this was against Christianity
- they valued the G and H ideas, encouraged miraculous healing with shrines e.g, Thomas Becket shrine. Believed illness was a test of faith or punishment so curing it was against God and so no new cures developed. Hospitals emphasised making old knowledge clear and not discovering new ideas.
- the monks preserved and studied ideas, didn’t allow ppl to go against G as this was going against the church. E.g. Roger Baker was arrested as he suggested that we should own research and not trust old books. Lack of dissections so ppl didn’t realise G was wrong and continued to believe him
5
Q
Islamic Influence
- when and what beliefs
- why did they have interest in medicine
- why was interest in H and G important for medical knowledge
- how did it spread to Europe
A
- 8th and 9th century, they were proactively seeking cures and new drugs, they helped everyone, not just the rich, they used hospitals to treat patients and cure them, followed G and H, hospitals were called bismaritans.
- the same Caliph was in charge of the whole Islamic empire which created peace and stability as they all followed the Muslim teaching and Mohammads teachings encouraged love of learning and scientific investigations.
- H encouraged observations and this helped them make scientific discoveries such as in surgery like Abulcasis where he created26 new surgical tools and new techniques. G, they continued using his ideas and his belief in the 4 humours so medicine is hindered. Avicenna wrote the Canon of Medicine which was an encyclopaedia of Greek and Islamic medicine.
- medicinal knowledge survived through the European dark ages. Knowledge was spread via trade and the text got translated into European languages which were used in European medical schools. They started to arrive in 1065 in Padua and Bologna.
6
Q
Barber Surgeons
- 3 barber surgeons
- what 3 problems in surgery
- how did the 3 surgeons contribute to surgery problems
- how widely accepted were the ideas
A
- John of Arderne, Hugh of Lucca and Theodric and Guy de Chaulic. They did procedures like trepanning, bloodletting, cauterisation and amputation
- pain: they operated with out affective painkillers, infection: they didn’t know germs caused disease, bleeding: didn’t have ability to treat deep wounds and heavy bleeding; used cauterisation for amputation but it was very painful.
- John: pain, used opium and Henbane to dull pain. Lucca: invented new techniques to prevent infection like using wine on wounds to stop infections. Chaulic: didn’t develop any new knowledge but wrote ‘great surgery’ in 1363 where he quoted G about 9000
- John: fairly; set up a Guild of Surgeons where his ideas were circulated due to the fact he had a high success rate and it meant medical knowledge became more consistent. Lucca: not very; his ideas went against H so medicine stands still. Chaulic: very, his book dominated English and French surgery for 200 years and he prevented Lucca’s ideas becoming popular.
7
Q
Towns
- what measures did towns take to improve public health
- what were public health problems
- what improvements had beneficial affect
- Coventry
A
- they had public privies, used roman water system, widen streets, drank ale, removed waste and litter from streets and monastery herb gardens. Butchers also weren’t allowed to sell rotten meat and were ordered have separat areas.
- the water was often contaminated by waste, from privies that emptied into it. There were animals everywhere who carried lots of disease and streets contained lots of waste.
- wealthier streets cleaned which reduced waste. Installed wooden pipes so they had a clean supply of water and drank ale which contained less bacteria and separating areas meant that germs from rotten meat didn’t spread to the rest of the town.
- 1420; waste collection service. Designated waste disposal sites e.g, at poodycroft and 1421 the mayor required Everyman to clean street outside their house or they faced a 12 penny fine.
8
Q
Monasteries
- features of a monastery to keep them healthy
- where did they get their ideas of cleanliness from
- why were monasteries healthier than towns (resources and location)
- How might monastic ideas about cleanliness influence other sections of medieval society
A
- They had wash room where water was piped into; privies emptied down river of the monastry; they washed on a daily basis and clothes regularly; infirmaries were separate from the main part
- had strict religious rules which they followed; believed that cleanliness was godliness and showed they were good Christians and had an understanding of pipes and toilets as they could read Roman texts
- Were richer so had more money to spend on cleaner facilities; monasteries were less busy; they were separated from the rest of the village as they farmed sheep for wool and it meant they were less likely to be affected by epidemics. Whereas in towns, only rich individuals or local authorities could afford privies and they were busier
- Monasteries’ infirmaries provided care to the village so villagers would’ve experienced their cleanliness. Their ideas about cleanliness spread through Europe via texts, before the printing press invention in 1451 where they would’ve produced these texts
9
Q
Black Death
- When and What
- what did they think caused it
- how did it spread due to poor public health
- consequences
A
- arrived in 1348 from Asia in Dorset and was a combination of bubonic (spread by rats and fleas; fever, buboes, red and black spot rash) and pneumonic (spread by infected air; attacked lungs and people coughed up blood). Caused 1.5 million deaths
- bad smelling privies and rotting food; 4 humours out of balance; too much sex corrupted blood; god is angry as not enough people are going to church; planets
- the livestock spread disease as they travelled through towns and were a chariot for fleas. The litter attracted rats and other flea chariots. There were crowded towns and public spaces such as the ale houses so fleas and bacteria spread easily. Also had unhygienic habits such as poor waste disposal and no protection for those handling bodies.
- Short term: 1/3 of the Population were killed, this meant there were a shortages of workers so wages for peasants rose as they were more in demand and peasants became more willing to break their bonds of serfdom, threatening the stability of the feudal system. Fields were left unplowed so food rotted and animals escaped which resulted in food shortages so food prices quadrupled. Long term: The Catholic Church became less popular as priest either died or ran away which was seen as cowardice and against god. There was the peasants revolt in 1381 as they were forced to pay more tax as there were fewer of them and the Statute of Labours was created in 1351 which said peasants wages had to be the same as in 1346. Minorities were persecuted
