Medieval medicine 1250-1500 Flashcards
(40 cards)
Who was Hippocrates and what were his beliefs?
Greek doctor who created the theory of the four humours
What were the four humours?
Black bile, yellow bile, phlegm ,blood
Why did Hippocrates say people became ill?
If their humours were not balanced
Who was Galen?
A Roman doctor who developed the idea of the four humours
What was Galens theory?
To balance humours out
What were other ideas about the causes of disease?
Miasma-bad air
God- punishment for their sins
Supernatural-stars and planets effect health
Why were urine charts used?
To check the colour, smell and taste to check for Illness and unbalanced humours
Religious treatments?
Prayer
Fasting
Pilgrimages to tombs, praying to holy shrines to cure their illness
Paying for mass to be said
How were the four humours treated?
Bloodletting which included:
Cupping (putting warm cups onto open cut to draw out blood)
Leeching (using leaches to duck out the blood)
How else were the four tumours treated?
Purging (swelling mixed herbs and animal fat to make you sick or taking laxatives to empty bowls)
Bathing (warm baths prescribed with herbs to draw out humours.
What were herbal remedies used for?
Smell, drink or bathe in
Honey was also used in wounds
What were in the herbal remedies?
Most remedies used herbs, minerals and animal parts – Stye in the eye used onion, garlic, bulls bladder and wine.
What was surgery like in the Middle Ages?
Medieval surgeons could do some complex external surgery but were not trained properly and were still unaware about dirt causing infections and were unable to stop heavy bleeding.
What was wine used for in the Middle Ages ?
An antiseptic
What did they use as an anaesthetic?
Natural substances (opium or hemlock)
How did people try and prevent disease in the Middle Ages?
Prayer, Christian lifestyle
People based their treatments on zodiac charts
Carried sweet smelling herbs to ward off miasma as well as lighting fires and ringing bells.
What did physicians advise to the rich?
Physicians promoted ‘Regimin Sanitis’ for patients to keep healthy.
This included; avoiding stress, exercising, eating a healthy diet and bathing regularly
What was the public health act?
The rich spent money to keep towns clean, they tried to improve sanitation and introduced clean water with London being the first city to have piped water. However the poor still lived is bad conditions
What were the health problems in towns?
And what were there solutions?
Waste and litter -laws put in against littering
Too many animals-12 rakers were employed to clean the streets
Dirty water -started using lead pipes
Leaking latrines- laws on locations for private latrines, cesspits built with stone to stop leakage
Who were wise women?
-local women with experience
-would use herbal remedies and some charms/spells to help cure local villagers
-were cheap
-often helped with childbirth
-not allowed to be physicians
Who were apothecaries?
-like pharmacists
-trained but no medical qualifications ,highly experienced
-mixed various ingredients to make medicines for physicians
-cheaper than a physician
Who were physicians?
-medically trained at university for 7 years using Hippocrates and galen
-only 100 male physicians in England
-would diagnose illness and suggest treatment
-took clinical observation
-used four humours,urine charts and astrology to diagnose
-very expensive
Who were barber surgeons?
-untrained but experienced surgeon
-use wound man diagram for advice
-performed basic surgery
-used no anaesthetics or antiseptics (low success rate)
-cheapest surgery available
What were hospitals like in the Middle Ages?
-run by the church
-did not allow infectious patients
-most did not have doctors but rather a priest with monks and nuns
-focused of ‘care not cure’
-kept very clean
-had gardens herbs and vegetables patches
