Medicine Through Time Flashcards
what did people believe about the causes of diesease in medieval times?
The four humours as this idea was promoted by the Church.
Miasmas- air was disturbed by the planets and earthquakes.
God- disease was caused as God was punishing their sins.
Astrology-imbalance in the star signs made you ill or the positioning of the planets.
What were Galens ideas about the causes of disease?
Galen believe in a soul and that parts of the body worked together which were the four humours. An imbalance in the four humours led to disease.
He also believe that evil humours that entered the body would cause diease.
The four humours were; blood, phlegm, yellow bile, black bile.
Why did the Church support Galens ideas?
As his ideas fitted well with Christian beliefs. Also the majority of education was controlled by the Church and most books were in monasteries which made it difficult to challenge Galens ideas.
What were factors that effected medieval medicine?
The Church-it dominatef medicine and care after the decline of the Roman Empire. They controlled hospitals and monks translated Latin medical texts. They banned dissections meaning no new knowledge could be gained.
Lack of knowledge-limited scientific knowledge and progress.
What was miasmas?
The belief that bad air caused disease or disrupted air from earthquakes and planets caused disease.
How would a trained physician treat an ill person?
They had medical training and had passed exams.
Would diagnose using your urine and astrological information.
Treatment was based on Galen; bloodletting, purging to balance your humours or a herbal medicine.
Consults astrology for the best treatment approach.
Expensive-believes treatment to be superior than apothecaries and barber surgeons.
How would the apothecary treat people?
Mixes various ingredients to produce medicines or ointments for the physician.
Make their own mixture for a price.
Cheaper than having to consult a physician and then pay an apothecary for the same medicine anyway.
How would a barber surgeon treat an ill person?
Can carry out blood letting, pulling out rotten teeth and lance boils.
Can also cut out bladder stones or amputate limbs.
They had no anaesthetics and a low sucess rate for surgery.
Not trained or respected by trained physicians.
How would hospitals treat ill people?
Hospitals were usually for the old or people with specific illnesses such as leprosy.
Sick people were looked after at home.
Run by nuns and monks because of the Christianity values of caring for others.
Hospitals were care not cure.
After the reformation in the 16th century some free hospitals were set up in towns funded by charities.
How did housewife physicians treat illness?
They knew traditional remedies for things such as sore throats, stomach aches and temperatures.
Could deal with broken bones and childbirth, may have been referred to as a ‘wise woman’.
Remedies were based on herbs, plants, charms and spells.
How would prayer and pilgrimage help illness?
Go to a holy shrine in hope they would be cured of an illness by God.
What were some supernatural ideas about treatments?
Saying a prayer or holding a lucky charm while a person was being bled to balance their four humours.
How was astrology used to treat a patient?
It decided when to bleed a patient.
What was the role of women in medicine in medieval times?
There were few female physicians in the 12th century, however, women could not attend universities which drove them out of the medical profession by the 14th century.
Women continued to work as midwives but had to have a license from their bishop to show they were of good character and they would not carry out illegal abortions.
How did medieval people treat miasmas?
They believed surroundinf themselves with even more bad air it would get rid of the bad air causing the disease.
How did medieval people treat an imbalance in the four humours?
Carry out bleeding which meant putting leeches or bleeding cups around a persons body allowing them to draw blood out which they believed would balance the four humours.
How did a urine chart help treatment?
The urine was matched against the colours, smell and density on the chart which showed which treatment to give.
The urine chart was based on the four humours so if it was too white there was too much phlegm in the body.
What did people believe the causes of the Black Death were in 1348?
Miasmas
Astrology was to cause because of the positioning of the planets in 1345.
Imbalance of the 4 humours was to blame.
Minorities were said to have poisoned the water supplies.
Evil humours contaminating the body.
They believe God brought the plague because of sinning.
What were treatments of the Black Death in 1348?
Light candles as offerings to God.
Surround themsleves in more bad air hoping it would get rid of the bad air causing disease.
Not do anything that would allow the poisonous air to enter your body such as taking baths or eating hot foods.
How did people try and prevent the Black Death of 1348?
People prayed and asked for forgiveness and the Church held processions at least once a day.
Surrounded themselves with bad air to drive away the bad air that was causing disease.
The government passed a quarentine law where new people and infected people were put into quarentine. They banned large crowds but the Church overruled this and continued as normal.
Stop cleaning the streets so the miasmas would leave.
Any house that contained the plague had to be sealed up for 40 days until the person got better or died.
The door was marked with a red cross.
What were six key changes from the medieval to renaissance period?
Governments were strong and rich. The economy boomed and the trade prospered meaning people could afford doctors.
Artists revolutionised paiting which led them to stufy the body in more detail. Connected to improved knowledge of anatomy as doctors could now hire artists to create realistic images of the body to learn from.
Universities established schools of medicine. Saw the beginning of the scientific methoad which saw conducting and experiment and collecting observations.
New weapons led to soldiers getting new sorts of wounds which battlefield doctors had to deal with.
What was the impact of the printing press on medicine?
Most books were hand written in Latin which most people couldnt understand.
Printing press allowed fast flow of information and encouraged the spread of new ideas.
It meant books could be read by many people and people had more motivation to read meaning a more educated population.
Also books were printed in languages other than Latin which caused people to question why mass was delivered in Latin.
What was the impact of the Royal Society on medicine?
It was founded in 1660 where they met weekly to discuss new ideas about physics, astronamy and medicine.
This allowed science to begin to replace superstition.
This spread books and articles to spread new ideas and discoveries.
People now were not afraid to challenge old ideas and new ideas were founded in this period.
Also more knowledge on anatomy and on how the body worked.
How did the Church’s influence begin to decrease in the Renaissance period?
The Reformation began which meant the dominance of the Catholic Chirch eas challenged and their control over peoples attitudes and beliefs began to change. In particularly enabling the dissection of the human body to start.
What percentage of hospitals cared for the sick in the medieval period?
10%
What percentage of people died in the Black Death 1348?
1/3
What were symptoms of the Black Death?
Chest Pains
Breathing problems
Coughing up blood
Buboes
What was the impact of Versalius on medicine?
He pointed out errors in Galens work.
Galen made errors in saying things such as the live had five loves whereas it only has two, also the jaw bone is only one bone not to.
He also said that blood does not flow into the heart through invisible holes as they do not exist.
His accurate knowledge of anatomy was vital for the building up of medical knowledge and paves the way for better treatments later.
What book did Versalius write?
Fabric of the Human Body.
Help understand human anatomy.
What were the limitations to Versalius’ work?
The Church refused to accept Galen had made any errors.
Doctors opposed using artists in dissections as they had no place in science.
Many doctors refused that Galen was wrong, his work only showed the body had changed since Galens time.
Nobody became healthier as a result of Versalius’ work.
Many more discoveries needed until people would live longer, healthier lives.
What was the role of Thomas Sydenham in the Renaissance?
He focused on observation, evidence and keeping records to make him more accurate.
Idetified specific diseases and created treatments using observation to identify how treatments work.
Doctors should visit the sick rather than the other way around.
He published a book ‘Observationes Medicae’ which became a standard textbook for over two centuries.
He described scarlett fever.
What were the limitations of Sydenhams work?
Clinical description didnt make him popular among collegues.
Rejected microscopes on religious grounds.
He still believed in the four humours.
What did William Harvey discover?
Discovered circulation of the blood by disecting human corpses and cold blooded animals while they were still alive to see how the blood moves.
He could not identify capillaries as they were too small to see with the naked eye.
What factors influenced Harveys work?
The growth of science made dissections possible.
Texhnology such as the printing press meant he could publish his findings.
What were limitations to Harveys work?
It didnt have a large impact as doctors didnt understand the importance of his work.
His work didnt lead to any cures or treatments so many doctors did not see the importance of it.
What were some new treatments on the Renaissance period?
Medical Chemistry- where people experimented with doses of metals, salts and minerals in water.
Purging made the person sick.
What helped people understand the causes of disease better in Renaissance?
People understood the importance of cleanliness, purifying the air and diet, however most of these were also medieval ideas.
New ideas such as transference which is that a disease could be transferred to another object or person.
What were treatments like in the Renaissance period?
Apothecaries and wise women still mainly used as only the rich could afford doctors so herbs were still widely used.
Bleeding and purging were also still prominent.
People also used superstitious treatments such as prayer and the Kings touch.
How many people visisted King Charles II to help cure them of scrofula?
Over 92,000.
What was the basic microscope made and who by?
1600’s by Van Leeuwenhock.
What was the prevention of disease like in the Renaissance period?
Monasteries lose control of hospitals and Henry the 8th closes them all down so things got worse for a while.
Charities began to open hospitals but they were slow to be built and still quite small.
The plague returned showing that Public Health was poor.
How was the Plague spread?
Fleas and rats carried it.
What did people think the causes of the Great Plague were in 1665?
Supernatural Astrology Sins Transference Miasma Insects
How many people died in the Great Plague of 1665?
100,000
What were treatments of the Great Plague in 1665?
Prayers
Carrying herbs to smell
Changing diet.
Plague doctors wore special costumes to aboid catching the diesease.
How did the government respond to the Great Plague in 1665?
The mayor of London issued specific instructions of what people should do. He ordered that cats, dogs and pigeons be killed, public meetings were banned and thestres were closed. Also streets were kept clean.
Houses with infected people was marked with a red cross and quarentined.
What was innoculation?
When puss is taken from a smallpox sufferer and then it is spread into a wound between the thumb and forefinger of the person being innoculated.
Then a mild version of smallpox develops and the person survives and they are then immune.
What was the problem with innoculation?
It didnt solve the problem for everyone as not all could afford it.
It wasnt always effective or safe.
What discovery did Jenner make?
People who already had cowpox would not catch smallpox.
How did Jenner test his theory about smallpox?
He carried out tests on an eight year old boy called James Phipps.
In 1796 he inserted cowpox into two cuts on James’ arms.
He also innoculated James with smallpox but he didnt get smallpox.
Jenner then tried to innoculate James again but he didnt even develop a mild case of smallpox.
To make sure he tested this on another 23 people.
What did Jenner do with his findings in 1798?
He published his ideas giving the name vaccination to his new technique of innoculation.
However the Royal Society refused to publish his account and he had to pay for it to be printed himself and was awarded £10,000 for his work against smallpox.
In 1807, five years later he was awarded £20,000
How many people had been vaccinated by 1801?
100,000 vaccinated in England.
What was set up in 1802 to try and stop people getting vaccinated?
The Anti Vaccine Society.
What was smallpox wiped out?
1980.
When were vaccinations made compulsary?
In 1853 then strengthened even further in 1871.
What was the Vaccinations Act?
It encouraged the public to get vaccinated in 1840.
What was a limitation to Jenners work?
He did not know how the vaccination worked. He had no knowledge of the germs and microbes so he could not make vaccinations for other diseases.
When was the Germ Theory discovered?
1861.
What was Pasteurs experiments suggestingn when he was carrying them out?
He identified liquids were going sour because of microbes and probed that germs caused disease.
Why was the Germ Theory significant?
It allowed scientists and doctors to understand what caused disease.
What was a limitation of Pasteurs Germ Theory?
He did not understand which microbes caused which diseases.
What theories did Pasteur disprove with his discovery?
Miasmas and the four humours.
What allowed Pasteur to develop his investigation?
The death of his young daughter in a cholera outbreak.
What did Pasteur do when investigating the Germ Theory further?
He took an air sample from a cholera ward.
He put his sample under a microscope and he could only see a confused mass of bacteria, he could not identify what was causing cholera.
Why did many doctors reject Pasteurs discoveries?
As he was a scientist and bhad limited knowledge of diseases or experience of practical treatments.
He had to conduct public experiments to show he was correct.
How did Robert Koch develop the Germ Theory?
Find the specific microbe or bacteria that was causing the individual disease.
What happened when Koch investigated anthrax?
It was the first time anyone had identified the specific microbe that causes the individual disease.
Which disease did Koch identify the specific microbe for?
Tuberculosis.
How did Koch investigate identifying the specific microbe?
He using a staininf technique which stained the microbe causing the disease so that it stood out under a microscope from other microbes.
What was Koch’s discovery important?
Other scientists could use this method and identify other microbes.
What was the typhoid microbe discovered?
1882
When was the cholera microbe discovered?
1883
When was the pneumonia microbe discovered?
1886
When was the meningitis microbe discovered?
1887
When was the plague microbe discovered?
1894
What was a limitation of Koch’s work?
Identifying the microbe did not save peoples lives by itself.
What did Pasteur do after Koch’s discovery?
He knew about Jenners work and he know that microbes caused disease so he carried out experiments to find more vaccines.
What vaccines did Pasteur discover?
Anthrax, chicken cholera and rabies.
When did Pasteur find the rabies vaccination?
1885
How did Pasteur develop the rabies vaccination?
He investigated rabies and tested his vaccine on dogs.
He then tested the vaccine on a boy Joseph Meister who had been bitten by a rabid dog.
He gave the boy 13 injections over a two week period and the boy survived.
When was the typhoid vaccine developed?
1896
When was the tuberculosis vaccine developed?
1906
When was the dipetheria vaccine developed?
1913
When was the tetanus vaccination developed?
1927
When was the Public Health Act set up?
1848
What did the Public Health Act allow towns to do?
Set up their own local board of health.
Appoint a local medical officer.
Organise the removal of rubbish.
Build a sewer system.
What did Edwin Chadwick publish in 1842?
He published the results from his survey which suggested it would be cheaper if local taxes were used to improve housing rather than sick people being supported in workhouses.
He said to improve access to clean water, remove sewrage and rubbish.
Why were people against Chadwicks suggestions?
The government had a laissez faire attitude which meant the government should not interfere with orfinary lives or business. Water companies objected as they thought it might effect their profits. Middle class people who had to pay did not see why their money should be taken to provide better living for the poor who did not pay towards any of these improvements.
What caused the government to try Chadwicks ideas?
A cholera epidemic of 1848.
What was a limitation of the Public Health Act?
It did not force town councils to do it and the terms of the act were only temporary so the General Board of Health was abolished in 1858.
What statisitic of towns set up a Board of Health?
1/3
How mant deaths were from cholera in 1831-32?
Around 26,000
How many deaths were there from cholera in 1848-49?
Around 53,000
How many deaths were from cholera in 1853-54?
Around 20,000
How many deaths were there from cholera in 1865?
Around 14,000
What happened in 1854?
Another cholera outbreak.
Why did Dr John Snow investigate cholera?
He used it to investigate his theory that cholera was spread theough infected water.
He marked all the deaths on a map in one area and there was a concentration of deaths around the pump on Broad Street.
What did Snow do to the water pump on Broad Street?
He removed the handle of the pump so that water could not be collected and the number of deaths fell dramtically.
When was the Great Stink?
1858
What was the Great Stink?
Hot weather meant the level of the River Thames was low and the smell exposed sewage along its banks and the smell was so strong the parliment could not meet, even sheets soaked in disinfectant were humg at the windows to cover up the smell.
What did the Great Stink cause?
It allowed Joseph Bazalgettes ideas of a new sewer system in London.
How long did the new sewerage system in London take to complete?
Seven years
How many miles of sewerage did London have by 1865?
1300 miles
