Medieval Medicine

Question 1

What treatments would trained doctors do?

Answer 1

Treated patients using Hippocratic and Galenic methods

Question 2

What natural treatments did medieval doctors use?

Answer 2

Clinical observation- checking pulse and urine
four humours

Question 3

Why were trained doctors not accessible for the average person?

Answer 3

Only in large towns
Expensive
Weren’t many around

Question 4

What treatments would herbalists do?

Answer 4

Herbal treatments, prayer and rest

Question 5

Name 4 people that would treat sick people in Medieval England

Answer 5

Barber surgeons
Wise women
Herbalists
Trained doctors

Question 6

What theory did medieval doctors base their natual cures on?

Answer 6

The 4 humours

Question 7

Medieval medicine showed a belief in what two causes of disease?

Answer 7

Supernatural and natural

Question 8

What treatments would wise women do?

Answer 8

First aid, herbal remedies, supernatural cures

Question 9

What treatments would barber surgeons do?

Answer 9

Bloodletting, minor surgeries

Question 10

Why did the church approve of Galen and back his ideas for so long?

Answer 10

Although he lived in Roman times, Galen believed in 1 God, which fitted with Christian ideas

Question 11

What supernatural treatments would doctors use?

Answer 11

Position of the stars
Recommended charms and prayers

Question 12

What were the 4 humours?

Answer 12

Blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm

Question 13

How was it believed the 4 humours made a person ill?

Answer 13

If they became out of balance, a person would become ill so it was the doctor’s job to restore the balance

Question 14

Why did the Church believe it was good to look after the sick?

Answer 14

They believed in following the example of Jesus who healed the sick

Question 15

Why did the Church not believe in curing illness?

Answer 15

They believed that God sent illness as a punishment or a test of faith so to cure it would be challenging His will

Question 16

In the eyes of the Church, what was the most important treatment?

Answer 16

Prayer and pilgrimage

Question 17

How many hospitals were set up in England between 1000 and 1500?

Answer 17

over 700

Question 18

How were hospitals funded?

Answer 18

By the Church or by a wealthy patron

Question 19

What was the main focus of Medieval hospitals in England?

Answer 19

Caring for the sick and not curing

Question 20

What did Roger Bacon do?

Answer 20

He was arrested by the Church for suggesting doctors should do original research and not trust old books

Question 21

What idea (other than the four humours) did Hippocrates develop?

Answer 21

clinical observation of the patient, rather than just the illness

Question 22

Name 3 ideas Hippocrates developed?

Answer 22

4 humours, clinical observation, and the Hippocratic Oath

Question 23

What was the Hippocratic Corpus?

Answer 23

A written collection of Hippocrates’ work which allowed doctors in other countries to learn from his knowledge

Question 24

What theory did Galen develop and how did it effect treatments?

Answer 24

The theory of opposites, which concerned how people should be treated using the 4 humours

Question 25

What was Galen’s work on anatomy based on?

Answer 25

Dissecting animals such as pigs and monkeys

Question 26

Name one thing Galen correctly found out through his dissections?

Answer 26

The brain controlled speech

Question 27

Name one thing Galen correctly found out through his dissections

Answer 27

The brain controlled speech

Question 28

Name 2 mistakes Galen made

Answer 28

He believed that blood passed from one side of the heart to the other through tiny holes in the septum. Also said that the human jaw bone is two separate bones, when it is actually one

Question 29

Name 4 supernatural treatments used in medieval England

Answer 29

prayer, pilgrimage, astrology, trepanning

Question 30

Name 3 natural treatments used in Medieval times

Answer 30

bloodletting, purging, herbal remedies

Question 31

When doctors gave treatments, what were they attempting to support?

Answer 31

What the body did itself. For example, if somebody had a nosebleed it was seen as the body’s way of getting rid of excess blood. Therefore the doctor would help the body by bloodletting

Question 32

How long did ideas and treatments based on the 4 humours last until?

Answer 32

Until the 19th century when germ theory was developed by Louis Pasteur in 1861

Question 33

Who controlled teachings of doctors in universities and what was the impact of this?

Answer 33

The Church. This meant Galen’s ideas continued to be followed and believed

Question 34

What evidence is there that the Church helped medical progress in Medieval England?

Answer 34

The Church was the only source of help for many sick people, because the care provided by monasteries was free.
Monks copied out the ideas of Galen and Hippocrates, which allowed their work to be preserved and allowed them to later be challenged

Question 35

What evidence is there that the Church hindered medical progress?

Answer 35

The Church limited doctors ability to challenged or question the ideas of ancient doctors.
Many treatments were based on the idea that God caused illness and so prayer could cure any illness