Medieval Medicine Flashcards
What are the religious causes to disease
Many people believed that disease was a punishment from god for people sins. They thought that disease existed to show them the error of their ways and to make them become better people. As a result people believed that there was no need to search for other rational explanations for disease
What we’re the religious treatments to disease
Sick people were encouraged to pray. The sick often prayed to saints in the hope they would intervene and stop the illness. Medieval people also believed that pilgrimages to holy shrines could cure illness
Flagellants were people who whipped themselves in public in order to show god penance for their past actions
What we’re the beliefs about astrology
Astrology is the idea that the movement of the planets and stars have an effect on the earth and on people
Astrologers in medieval England believe that these movements could cause disease
Astrology was a new way of diagnosing disease. It was developed in Arabic medicine and brought to Europe between 1100-1300
Medieval doctors owned a type of Calander (an almanac) which included info about where particular planets and stars were at any given time and how this related to parents illnesses.
What we’re the rational explanations for disease
The theory of the 4 humours was created by the Ancient Greek doctor Hippocrates. He believed that the body was made up of 4 fluids- blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile. These were linked to the 4 season and the 4 elements. They needed to be in balance for good health
Rational explanations (2)
The theory of the 4 humours was developed further by another Greek doctor Galen. Galen believed that diseases could be treated using opposites. He thought that different foods, drinks, herbs and spices had a humour which could balance the excessive humour that was causing the disease
What we’re the natural causes of disease
The miasma theory is the idea that bad air causes disease when soemone breathes in it. The bad air may come from human refuse, abattoirs or dead bodies
It was so influtential that it lasted until the 1860s when it was replaced with the germ theory
What was bloodletting and purging
Bloodletting and purging were popular treatments because they fitted in with the 4 humours theory.
If someone apparently had too much blood inside them the doctor would take some blood out of their body through phlebotomy. They might make a small cut to remove the blood the blood or use blood sucking leeches
Purging is the act of getting rid of other fluids from the body by excreting- doctors gave their patients laxatives to help the purging process
What we’re the natural treatments to disease
Remedies bought from an apothecary, local wise women or made at home were all popular in medieval England and contained herbs, spices and minerals
These remedies were either passed down, or written in books explaining how to mix them. Some of the books were called “herbals”
Other remedies were based on superstition like lucky charms
What we’re religious and supernatural methods to prevent disease
Carrying lucky charms or amulets
Chanting incantations
Self punishment such as flagellation
Living a Christian life- praying, going to church or obeying the commandments
How was purifying the air thought to prevent disease
The miasma theory led people to believe in the power of purifying or cleaning the air to prevent sickness and improve health
Physicians carried posies or oranges around them when visiting patients to protect themselves from catching disease
What is the role of physicians to treating illness
Physicians were male doctors who had trained at university for at least 7 years.
They read ancient texts as well as writing from the Islamic world but their training involved little practical experience
Diagnosed illness and recommended treatment
In 1300 there were less than 100 physicians in England. Seeing a physician was very expensive. Only the rich could afford it
Physicians (2)
Commonly physicians observed a patients symptoms and checked their pulse, skin colour and urine
They consulted urine charts in their vademecum
They also consulted zodiac charts to help diagnose illness and to work out the best time to treat a patient
How did apothecaries treat illness
Apothecaries prepared and sold remedies, mixed medicines and ointments based on their own knowledge or direction of a physicians
Apothecaries we’re trained through apprenticeships. Most apothecaries were men but there were also many “wise women” who sold herbal remedies
We’re the most common form of treatment in medieval England as they were the most accessible for those who couldn’t afford a physician
How did barber surgeons treat disease
Although there were a few university trained highly paid surgeons, surgery as a whole wasn’t a respected profession in medieval times. Most operations were carried out my barber surgeons
Like carried out blood letting, pulling teeth and lancing boils
Did basic surgery like amputating limbs
Cost less than physicians
Barber surgeons weren’t doctors however so they had little medical training or insight. This meant that they had neither the ability nor the desire to experiment with new treatments
How did hospitals treat disease
There were relatively few hospitals in medieval Britain so most sick people were treated at home by members of their family main the women of the house
Most hospitals were set up and run by monasteries which were really popular and highly regarded. Monastic hospitals were good for patients health because they were more hygienic than else where. Monasteries separated clean and dirty water. They had one water supply for cooking and drinking and one for drainage and washing so people didn’t have to drink dirty water. They also had good systems for getting rid of sewage
Main purpose of hospitals was not to treat disease but to care for the sick and elderly. Provides its patients with food and water and a warm place to stay
Also provided basic medical treatments- monks also had access to books on healing and they know how to grow herbs and make herbal remedies
