medieval medicine Flashcards
What are the four humours?
Blood, phlegm, black bile, yellow bile
What were the symptoms of too much blood?
Frequent nose bleeds, flushed, hot
What were the symptoms of too much phlegm?
Vomiting and runny nose
What were the symptoms of too much black bile?
Melancholic and sad
What were the symptoms of too much yellow bile?
Vomiting
What were the 3 methods of blood letting
Cupping, leeches and cutting a vein
What was the belief about the four humours?
All humours must be balanced and equal. You need to take good care of the balance of your humours. The month you were born in could make 1 or 2 of your humours strange.
What were the common ways if rebalancing the 4 humours?
Purging, blood letting, changing diets/ lifestyle
What were the ideas about the cause of disease ?
1) Movements of the planet.
2) 4 humours.
3) miasma.
4) punishment from God.
What was the belief about miasma?
People believed that diseases were caused by “bad air” . So the streets were thoroughly
Cleaner
What was the belief about the movement of the planets
People believed that God controlled the planets so this linked to religion, they believed that stars and planets affected people’s health
What was the belief about religion?
People believed that illness was a punishment from God and it was a result of someone sinning. It was part of “Gods plan” . It was also believed that it was sent to “cleanse” someone
Who were the medics of the medieval period?
1) Women- herbal remedies.
2) physicians - prescribed and wrote regimen sanitatis, trained in uni for 1 year.
3) surgeons- AKA barbers, did not go to uni but they did train as apprentices by observation. Performed basic procedures.
4) apothecaries- made ointments and medicine for physicians.
What were the main disease treatments?
1) Theory of opposites
2) herbal remedies.
3) praying.
4) cleaning.
Who founded the theory of opposites?
Galen
Who founded the four humours theory?
Hippocrates
What were the problems of keeping the medieval towns clean?
- too many animals.
- dirty water.
- waste and litter.
- leaking latrines.
What were hospitals originally used as?
Guest houses, offering hospitality to travellers.
Who ran the “hospitals” and why?
Monks and nuns, to make sure that sick people felt comfortable and had a warm place to stay.
Why did monks and nuns run the “hospitals”
To fulfill their Christian duties.
Why were there no doctors in the “hospital
The aim was not to cure the sick, but to make them feel comfortable. They cared for their souls, not their bodies.
Positives of monk/ nun run hospitals
- cared for people.
- provided food, warmth and prayer.
- clean facilities.
- good place to rest and recover
Negatives to monk/ nun run hospitals
- no treatments.
- no medical knowledge.
- mainly just a care home.
