Medieval: Background Knowledge Flashcards
What 2 beliefs/methods did Hippocrates popularise?
Four humours, careful observation
What was Hippocrates’ book called?
The Hippocratic Corpus
What was contained in the Hippocratic Corpus?
Collection of over 60 medical texts from Hippocrates and other Greek doctors
What was noted in the Hippocratic Corpus?
Symptoms, treatments and their effectiveness
How was Galen held back by Roman society?
Could not perform human dissections as it was banned by the Church
How did Galen build on Hippocrates’ work?
Built on his findings - gave advice on diet and exercise to prevent illness
How did Galen first learn about medicine?
He went to gladiator school and studied wounds
What did Galen dissect and what did this prove?
Public dissection of a pig - proved that Greek medicine was wrong to think that the heart controlled the body
How did Galen use the idea of the Four Humours to treat his patients?
Developed the idea of using “opposites” to “balance” the humours
What was a common treatment used by Galen/Galenic medicine?
Bloodletting - restore balance of humours
Used bleeding more than Hippocrates
What were wise women?
Women known by the village who offered (mainly supernatural) treatments
What sort of remedies were offered by wise women?
Supernatural cures, first aid and natural herbs
What was a “quack”?
Barber surgeon - “doctors” with little medical knowledge
What sort of procedures did barber surgeons offer?
Bloodletting, pulling teeth, amputation
Used no anaesthetic!
How long were medieval doctors trained for?
7 years of university training
How did medieval doctors learn?
Learnt by listening in lectures and debating knowledge from books
Why were medieval doctors perhaps untrustworthy?
They could leave university without once seeing a patient
What method did medieval doctors follow?
Careful observation
What did medieval doctors focus on?
Colour, pulse, taste and smell of urine
Name 3 things did medieval doctors prescribed medicine from.
Wine, olive oil, herbs and spices, cows/dairy products, plants
Why were fully-qualified doctors hard to see?
Fully-qualified doctors were expensive
