Medicine Through Time Flashcards
What does ‘Prehistoric’ mean?
Before we had written records. To understand these times in history, we have to look at other evidence, such as bones, paintings and tools.
What did prehistoric people have knowledge of?
Some knowledge of anatomy - from hunting, killing and eating animals, as well as from when people got torn up by them. Understood enough to know the quickest way to kill animals - cave paintings of animals with a spear through the heart. May have known to keep broken bones still/had splints - people with completely healed fractures. They could treat simple surface wounds.
What illnesses did prehistoric people suffer from? What illnesses did prehistoric people avoid?
They appear to have suffered from rabies, gangrene and arthritis. They would have a healthy diet, as they ate a lot of wild plants and berries. Their water supply wouldn’t be contaminated, and human waste wouldn’t pile up (attracting disease carrying insects) as they moved from place to place regularly. They would not have suffered from modern diseases relating to smoking or alcohol consumption.
What is a witch doctor (prehistoric)?
Strangely dressed-up tribesmen (and paintings of them) that they believe would scare away evil spirits that caused the body pain, without injury.
What is ‘trepanning’?
Drilling a hole into the side of somebody’s head to release evil spirits trapped within. This would have been done without anaesthetic, with a piece of flint. Some people would have survived this treatment, as skulls have been found that have regrown and almost closed.
What other methods can we use to discover more about life in prehistoric times, other than looking at artefacts?
We can study the beliefs of Aborigines in Australia and South America, seeing what herbal remedies they use. Their beliefs are often superstitious and magical, and they use witch doctors to treat diseases.
Who provided care in prehistoric times?
Medicine men provided medical care, but women were closely involved in treating illness as wives and mothers.
What factors in Ancient Egypt affected medicine?
Money, The Nile, Writing, Trade and Religion
How did money affect medicine in Ancient Egypt?
Rich people paid doctors to look after them. The pharaoh had a whole team! However, the law ensured that everybody had access to doctors, whether they were rich or poor.
As Egypt was very wealthy, they had many fine craftsmen that made medical instruments, so doctors had better equipment.
How did The Nile affect medicine in Ancient Egypt?
It gave doctors a theory about how illness was caused. They had built a system of channels around The Nile, carrying water to fields, and when these became blocked, the crops in the fields suffered. They applied this concept to the body, as they knew it contained many passages for blood, air and food, leading to treatments such as laxatives and bloodletting to clear blockages.
How did writing affect medicine in Ancient Egypt?
They could keep a record of illnesses and treatments that could be referred back to and also built upon. They used papyrus as paper, and hieroglyphics as letters.
How did trade affect medicine in Ancient Egypt?
Egyptian merchants traded with India, China and Africa, bringing in new herbs to be used as medicines.
How did religion affect medicine in Ancient Egypt?
A belief in an afterlife in which you required all the major organs lead to a process called mummification. Vital organs were removed, and the body was wrapped in bandages and soaked in salts to prevent decay. The priests who performed this process must have learnt a bit about anatomy, but not about physiology, as they couldn’t dissect the organs they removed.
What kind of treatments did Egyptian doctors use?
They used natural treatments, such as herbal remedies, laxatives and bloodletting. They also used supernatural treatments, such as charms and spells and praying.
Why were people in Ancient Egypt turned into mummies?
They believed people need their bodies in the afterlife, so it needs to be preserved properly.
Describe the process of mumification
First, they pulled the brain out of the nose and rinsed out the skull with chemicals. Then, they removed the intestines, stomach, lungs, liver and heart. The heart was washed and placed back inside the body, as it was considered very important. The other organs were put in jars and sealed under the protection of the god Horus. The body was washed in palm wine, milk, spices and oil, then left for 40 days with a covering of salt, drying out the body. It was then wrapped in linen bandages and buried in a tomb with the organ jars.
What are ‘Asclepeia’?
Special healing temples where Ancient Greeks could go to pray to the god Asclepius to come and heal them from their illness.
What happened in an Asclepion?
When the patient first arrived, they would sacrafice an animal before a statue of Asclepius. Then, they would wash in salts and minerals, hoping the gods would wash away the evil and guilt inside them. When a priest decided the patient was ready, he would be taken to the abaton to sleep, while snakes (sacred) would slither over them in their sleep.
How were people cured in an Asclepion?
It seems unlikely the gods healed the people, as they thought in Ancient Greece. One possibility is the placebo effect. Another is the good habits patients picked up - no stress, good diet, relaxing.
The priests in an Asclepion may also have helped in the healing process, believing they were acting for the gods.
What is the theory of the four humours?
Ancient Greeks came up with the idea that the body was made up of 4 humours: blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm. They believed that illness occurred when the humours were out of balance. They linked the humours to the seasons, characteristics and elements as well: blood, spring, hot and wet, air; yellow bile, summer, hot and dry, fire; black bile, autumn, cold and dry, earth; phlegm, winter, cold and wet, water. They treated people to re-balance the humours.
How would a Greek doctor treat you?
They didn’t believe in interfering too much to restore the balance of the humours, as they believed they would restore themselves. They may help it along with laxatives and bloodletting though. Their main philosophy was one of a healthy life style (right amount of sleep, exercise, bathing etc) - preventing illness in the first place.
Who was Hippocrates?
A Greek doctor. He came up with the idea of clinical observation, emphasizing the importance of studying the patient’s lifestyle, not the disease. He thought everything should be carefully recorded, then the appropriate treatment selected. He believed in natural causes of disease and cures. He formulated the theory of the four humours, and wrote many books. The Hippocratic Oath was sworn by all students at his medical school, and is still used today.Hippocrates advised against unnecessary operations, and only if the patient was likely to survive.
What is the Hippocratic Collection?
A selection of books that are named after Hippocrates - he didn’t write them all!! They represent a huge step forward in medicine, as they were the first detailed record in how illnesses develop. They helped doctors for centuries in prescribing treatments.
What operations did the Greeks perform?
There were some successful amputations, but only one operation was done inside the body: the draining of the lungs (a treatment for pneumonia). With no anaesthetics, other operations would be difficult to perform.
Who carried out medical treatment in Ancient Greece?
Doctors were very important, but expensive, and therefore only a last resort. Women and wives did most of the treatments, with old herbal remedies.
What result did the Greeks conquering Egypt have on medicine?
The Greek leader, Alexandria the Great, built the city of Alexandria in Egypt in 331BC. A huge university and library were built there that contained medical books from India, China, and many other places. The university attracted medical students fro hundreds of years, and dissections were allowed there, making important discoveries possible.
What was the Romans’ attitude towards medicine?
They didn’t really care much about disease; any doctors they had were mainly Greek. Many were fakes, as you could call yourself a doctor with absolutely no medical experience.
What treatments could you get in the Roman Empire?
Herbal remedies, often passed down through generations (modern doctors say 1/5 would have worked!); doctors, though you couldn’t be sure if they had studied for years in Alexandria, or were fakes. Travelling doctors were likely to be ex-soldiers and could perform small operations. Votives were sold, which were fake body parts you could put on the altar and pray for that body part to be healed. You could also visit the market, though medicines sold there were often false.
What was the role of women in Roman times?
They were vital, as they performed all home treatment, and were therefore experts on herbal remedies. There were some female doctors, and many skilled midwives.
Why did the Romans make advances in surgery?
They needed a healthy army to conquer land, so getting soldiers fit and well again quickly suited them.
How did the Romans improve public health?
They realised that something in the swamps surrounding Rome was making the people ill, so they drained them. They didn’t understand why though. When they built new cities, they used this knowledge to stay away from marshes etc, and checked the health of the locals to see if they could drink the water. When they had to build cities away from a water supply, they built aqueducts to carry water to them. Within cities, they had miles and miles of channels providing clean water to fountains, latrines, houses, baths, public buildings and barracks.
What were Roman baths like?
They had changing rooms, gyms, cold, warm and hot baths, places to be massaged and a swimming pool. The bigger ones had shops, racetracks, circuses, theatres and even a gladiator arena! They were hugely popular.
What wasn’t so great about Roman public health?
Many people lived in small, cramped areas where disease spread quickly. Rome’s sewers emptied into the river Tiber, which wasn’t so good for the people further up!
Where did Galen come from?
He was a Greek doctor, travelling to Rome in AD162. He had been studying medicine for over 15 years, gained experience as a surgeon in a gladiator school, and had some interesting theories!
How did Galen make a name for himself in Rome?
He got a fat, noisy pig, and gathered some doctors. He showed them that the kidneys produce urine by pinching the pipes coming from them, and watching them swell. He also proved that nerves, which come from the brain control different parts of the body by cutting some and silencing the pig. He proved that the brain controlled the body.
How did Galen treat people?
He used Hippocrates’ ideas of clinical observation and the theory of the four humours. He recommended opposites - e.g. if you have too much phlegm, which is cold and wet, have a pepper, as it is hot and dry.
What did Galen discover?
He discovered lots of new information about anatomy, but had to base his findings on the dissection of animals, as he didn’t get to dissect many humans. Therefore, he made many mistakes which would be believed for many years to come. He wrote down all his ideas in over 350 books.
What mistakes did Galen make?
Due to basing his findings on animals, he made many mistakes which were believed for 1500 years. For example, he said the human jaw bone is two separate bones, not one; the heart was separated into two parts, each carrying different lots of blood round the body; and the left kidney was higher than the right kidney.
How well did Galen get on with the Church?
He got on very well, as he claimed that that everything had a definite purpose, appealing to the idea of an almighty designer. He also claimed that men had one less rib than women, fitting in with the Genesis story.
Why did was the life expectancy of the Anglo-Saxons so short (6 reasons)?
Bad treatments: the tribes couldn’t read the books on treatments the Romans had left behind, so people would have died from small cuts. Bad diets: families grew their own food, and their diets lacked in red meat containing vital vitamins, lowering their resistance to disease. Bad housing: animals and people lived in one-roomed huts together, with no running water, meaning dysentery was common. Bad work: they worked in all weathers, every day, meaning their clothes were always wet, cuts would get dirty and infected and they would suffer from severe joint pain. Fighting: robbers, animals and other kingdoms provided a source of constant danger, where even the smallest cut could be deadly. Plague: animal plagues would kill the stock, meaning less food and clothing. Also, humans could catch diseases from them.
What did the Anglo-Saxons know?
They probably knew how to set bones, and some of their herbal remedies would have worked - garlic rubbed on cuts would kill some bacteria, and willow leaves used for headaches contain a painkiller.
How did the Anglo-Saxons treat people?
They wore charms to protect them from disease, along side herbal remedies.
How did the Arabs gain their medical knowledge?
They translated books by Galen, Hippocrates and other doctors, containing ideas more advanced than their own. They learnt from them, and other books they found in Africa and India.
Who was Rhazes?
A Muslim doctor who agreed with Hippocrates and Galen about clinical observation. He wrote over 100 books on medicine, and warned against following other people blindly.
Who was Ibn Sina?
A Muslim doctor who wrote a million-word book on medicine, used as a textbook until the 1600’s. It contained lots of treatments for all diseases. Known as Avicenna in Europe
Who was Abulcasis?
A Greek medical writer who described how to do simple surgery. Muslim surgeons improved on this.
What kind of hospitals did the Muslim world have?
As their faith taught them to care for the sick, they had many hospitals. They were divided into wards for different illnesses, and had different departments for those who did not need to stay in. Most doctors (who had to pass an exam to get a license) treated the poor for free, but made a huge amount of money from treating the rich.
How did doctors in the Muslim world treat their patients?
Some used astrological charts and prayers, but usually they used careful observation, then prescribing a natural treatment.
When was a law passed in London that was an attempt to clean up the city? What did it say?
- Anyone with filth outside their house could be fined 4 shillings, and there was a ban against throwing anything out of a window. Tradesmen weren’t allowed to sell off meat.
What are ‘gong-farmers’?
Teams of people who collected dung from the streets.
How did a doctor in the Middle Ages diagnose an illness?
He would examine the colour of your urine, examine your blood, tongue, pulse and perhaps your poo. They believed that different colours of urine meant different things.
How did a doctor in the Middle Ages treat illness?
They believed in the theory of the four humours, and therefore divided up medicine into 4 parts: warming, cooling, moistening and drying. They also used herbal remedies from apothecaries, of which over 1/2 would have worked.
What was a barber-surgeon?
Somewhere you could visit to be bled, and was cheaper than a doctor. You could also get a haircut!
What were hospitals in the Middle Ages like?
They were primarily a house of religion, so patients had to attend compulsory services everyday. They varied in size greatly, and looked after the poor, as well as the sick. The patients were treated by nuns and priests, and occasionally a doctor would stop by. They often didn’t take the most seriously ill, as they would stop people from praying, and take too much looking after.
How were lepers treated in the Middle Ages?
Leprosy was a well-known disease in the Middle Ages. It was viewed as a living death with no cure, and as a way for God to punish people for their sins. Lepers were restricted from marrying, had to were special clothes and sometimes shake a bell to warn people they were approaching. Leper hospitals were built to keep lepers away by providing a bed and a meal, but no treatment.
What were almshouses?
Small houses where the elderly, pregnant and weak could have stayed. A priest might have ran them, and any treatment would have been from his knowledge of herbal remedies. They were funded by the church.
What were monasteries, in relation to medicine in the Middle Ages?
They were the key medical centres, as they had copies of medical books from Greek and Roman times. The monks felt it was their duty to care for the sick, so they had an infirmary for monks, and an almonry where poor pilgrims, beggars and the disabled could collect food and clothes. The monks grew herbs to use in medicines.
When did the Black Death reach England?
1348
What disease was the Black Death?
Primarily, it was the bubonic plague, carried in rats on their fleas. Victims would get buboes (boils), develop a rash, and 7/10 would die. The Black Death also consisted of the pneumonic plague. Carried in the air, it attacked the lungs, making them cough up blood, spraying germs. Their lungs rotted inside them, and most victims died in a few days.
What did doctors in the Middle Ages think caused the Black Death?
Some thought it was a punishment from God, others thought it was corrupted air (Miasma). Others blamed the Jews, contagion and the humours.
When did the Black Death die out for the first time?
1353, although it returned 5 times before 1400, but not on the same scale.
When did the Renaissance begin?
In the 1400s
What caused the Renaissance (5 reasons)
New lands, new learning, artists, new weapons and the printing press.
How did new lands contribute to the Renaissance?
The discovery of America showed the value of finding new things, not just sticking to old ideas. New foods and medicines were also brought back.
How did new learning contribute to the Renaissance?
A scientific method of learning began, involving conducting experiments, collecting observations and coming to conclusions. Scholars began to question old beliefs - a vital development for medicine.
How did artists contribute to the Renaissance?
A desire to paint the body in more detail led artists to study the body more carefully, leading to a greater knowledge of anatomy.
How did new weapons (like gun powder) contribute to the Renaissance?
New wounds existed, meaning new treatments had to be developed.
How did the printing press contribute to the Renaissance?
It allowed ideas to be spread around quickly, and more people wanted to read. Old textbooks were rediscovered, so new knowledge was gained from them. People began to realise that their ideas were wrong, and there were better ways of doing things. They began to question things, and experiment for themselves.
What did Leonardo da Vinci do?
He dissected bodies to discover how they worked and to be able to draw them better. This was dangerous as dissection was forbidden. Through his work, he discovered how the eye worked, and was the first to study in detail a human embryo. His drawings were so good, they were studied by doctors before they performed operations.
Who was Andreas Vesalius, and what did he do?
He was born in Brussels in the 1500s. He studied medicine at Padua university, where he later became a professor. A popular teacher, Vesalius encouraged dissections. He wrote a book called ‘The Fabric of the Human Body’, containing detailed sketches of the human body. Vesalius proved that Galen was wrong, causing a sensation, and this provoked others into investigating more of Galen’s ideas, to see if others were wrong as well. However, he was criticised greatly by the church for arguing that men and women have equal numbers of ribs, so he left Padua and became a doctor for the Emperor of Spain.
Why was Vesalius important?
He corrected many of Galen’s mistakes that had been believed for centuries. He also showed the worth in trying to find out things for yourself, contradicting the belief Galen had found out everything there was to know. He encouraged people to test ideas for themselves.
Who was Ambriose Paré, and what did he do?
He was an army surgeon who treated many battlefield wounds. He discovered a new way of treating wounds. Instead of pouring boiling oil on them, he put a mixture of egg yolk and cold oil. He discovered this when he ran out of boiling oil on the battle fields. He also invented the idea of sewing up amputated limbs with silk thread, instead of cauterising them, though patients still died, due to infection. He also developed artificial limbs.
