Medieval: Christian and Islamic Medicine Flashcards
Why were Christian universities untrustworthy?
Reinforced old ideas instead of finding new ones
What was the aim of Christian medicine?
To care for people until they died or find out why God had “given” them an illness
How was Islamic medicine more advanced than Christian in terms of techniques?
Islamic medical students would train alongside doctors
How were Islamic and Christian beliefs about the purpose of medicine different?
Islamic: treat patients with compassion, find a cure
Christian: care for people until they died, believed God gave them illnesses for a reason
How did Christian and Islamic ideas about surgery differ?
Christian: did not support dissection
Islamic: performed (basic) surgery
What was a chaplain?
A priest working in a hospital
What happened in the 13th Century?
1200s: Roger Bacon (Monk) arrested for suggesting doctors should do own research
Why were Hugh and Theodoric of Lucca unpopular?
Challenged Galenic ideas
Which 2 doctors were disliked for challenging Galenic ideas?
Hugh and Theodoric of Lucca
Who was John of Arderne?
The most famous doctor in medieval England
What was John of Arderne’s surgical manual called and when was this published?
Practica - 1376
What did John of Arderne’s ‘Practica’ (1376) contain?
Illustrations of operations and instruments
What did John of Arderne famously do? (surgery)
Charged a large fee to treat an anal abscess
What was Guy de Chaulic’s textbook called and when was this published?
‘Great Surgery’ - 1363
Why was Guy de Chauliac so important?
‘Great Surgery’ dominated English and French surgical knowledge for 200 years
How many times did Guy de Chauliac quote Galen?
GdC quoted Galen 890 times
Who wrote ‘Practica’? (1376)
John of Arderne
Who wrote ‘Great Surgery’? (1363)
Guy de Chauliac
Who wrote ‘Anathomia’ and when was it published?
Mondino - 1316
Why was Mondino so important?
‘Anathomia’ became the standard dissection manual for over 200 years
Who trained doctors on Galenic ideas?
Mondino
Who wrote the textbook ‘The Practice of Surgery’ and when was this published?
Frugardi - 1180
What did Frugardi warn against?
Trepanning
How was Frugardi radical?
Frugardi performed ambitious operations such as removing bladder stones
How many hospitals were created in England from 1000-1500?
700
How many patients did medieval Christian hospitals treat?
12
Who were Christian hospitals ran by?
The Church/monks, nuns, priests
How was Christianity used in a medical context in hospitals?
Relics and prayer were used a “cure”
What did Christian hospitals rely on to stay open?
Relied on charity
What were the 2 other types of hospitals in medieval England?
Asylums, lazar houses
Who did asylums treat?
The mentally ill
Who did lazar houses treat?
People with diseases such as leprosy
Name 3 Islamic key individuals.
Avicenna, al-Razi, Abucasis
Who wrote ‘Canon of Medicine’?
Avicenna
What text did Avicenna write?
‘Canon of Medicine’
How many drugs were listed in ‘Canon of Medicine’?
760 drugs
How was Avicenna’s teachings unique?
‘Canon of Medicine’ had chapters on anorexia and obesity
Why was Avicenna’s ‘Canon of Medicine’ so influential?
It was the standard European medical textbook for doctors until the 1600s
What did al-Razi teach (methods)?
Careful observation
What 2 diseases did al-Razi distinguish between?
Measles and smallpox
How was al-Razi progressive?
Al-Razi taught that all students should improve on the work of their teacher
How many texts did al-Razi write?
Al-Razi wrote over 150 books
What key text did Al-Razi write?
Al-Razi wrote ‘Doubts about Galen’
What 4 things did Abucasis do in surgery?
- Allowed doctors to operate on veins and remove cancers
- Operate on eyes to remove cataracts
- Use fluids to remove fluids
- Use anaesthetics like opium
Why were Islamic hospitals revolutionary for variety in medicine?
The Islamic world had the first hospitals for the mentally ill
Who set up a great hospital in Baghdad? Why was this hospital special?
Caliph al-Rashid - new hospital in Baghdad with a medical school and a library
What is a bimaristan?
An Islamic hospital - Persian word for hospital
How were bimaristans more inclusive than Christian hospitals?
Bimaristans provided medical care for everyone
