medicine through time Flashcards
what is meant by supernatural causes?
when disease is ‘caused’ by supernatural reasons e.g God or astrology
what is meant by natural causes?
when disease is caused by things happening on earth e.g miasma / four humours
What were the two reasons people pointed to God for the causes of disease?
1- There was limited science to answer questions that were unable to be answered
2- The church held huge amounts of power and influence over the people
Which disease was particularly attributed to God?
Leprosy
Where were many lepers sent?
Lazars
What did the church say caused God to put serious diseases like the plague or leprosy on people?
Due to people committing sin
Astrology was another supernatural cause of disease. What would astrologers look at after examining the alignment of stars/planets?
A star/zodiac chart that contained a list of remedies according to the alignment of the planets
What would the physician then use to treat the disease after looking at the star/zodiac chart?
A remedy of different herbs according to the star chart
Which major disease pandemic did people say a strange alignment of the planets caused?
The black death
Who came up with the Theory of The Four Humours?
Hippocrates
What were the four humours?
Blood, yellow bile, black bile, phlegm
What historical period did Hippocrates come from?
Ancient Greece
How did the Four humours cause disease/illness?
If they were imbalanced e.g too much phlegm
If you were hot with a fever what did people think you had too much of?
Blood
If you had a cold and a runny nose, what did people think you had too much of?
Phlegm
If you felt sick and was vomiting, what did people think you had too much of?
Yellow bile
Which institution heavily supported the Theory of The Four Humours?
The Church
Why did the Church support the Theory of The Four Humours?
This is because Hippocrates stated that the imbalance of the humours was due to a creator. This matched what the Church was saying about God’s existence
Was the Church open to people challenging the Theory of The Four Humours?
No, the Church refused to accept any challenges to the theory and punished people severely
What is another reason why the Church stopped people challenging the Four Humour?
The only people that could actually write were monks and they worked for the Church
What was the name of the disease that was attributed to ‘bad smells’?
Miasma
Where was ‘miasma’ usually found?
‘Godless’ places like swamps and corpses
Did the Church support the idea of miasma causing disease?
Yes it did
Why did the Church support/not support the idea of miasma causing disease?
They supported this idea because God causes miasma according to the Church. This ‘shows’ God’s existence
Describe how urine charts were used?
The colour of urine would be compared to a ‘urine chart’. The darker the urine, the more unwell the patient was
What were the main factors that prevented advancement in the understanding of the causes of disease?
The church, individuals, lack of science and technology, attitudes in society
Who were the individuals that limited the development of medicine during the medieval period?
Hippocrates and Galen
Why did people continue to follow individuals Hippocrates and Galen’s ideas?
They were Greek/Roman and era of intellect and they were trusted. Also people were scared of the Church
Explain why the Church limited the development of medicine during the medieval period
The church stated that it was sinful for people to challenge their teachings that God causes diseases and the Theories of Hippocrates and Galen. The only people that could write were monks who wouldn’t challenge the Church
Explain why science and technology limit the development of medicine during the medieval period
Technology was limited during the medieval period and new technology and ideas was expected to fit into the Church and support Galen/Hippocrates
Explain why attitudes in society limited the development of medicine during the medieval period
People were simply too scared to challenge the Church as they were told they would go to Hell. Therefore the they were simply just did what they were told
Explain how communications limited the development of medicine during the medieval period
Books had to be written by hand. This took a long time, therefore new ideas would not be spread easy