medieval medicine Flashcards
What type of medicines did apothecaries provide?
Emetics and laxatives
What preventions were put in place to reduce illness caused by miasmas?
-Wore posies
-Lit fires
-Kept air moving by ringing bells and keeping birds
-latrines built
How many physicians were there in the 14th century?
Less than 100
What was a pestilence?
a disease
What was the name of the extended poem that provided health advice?
the regimen sanitatis salernitanum
What were some common ingredients in herbal remedies?
honey and garlic, both of which had mild antibacterial properties
What did barber surgeons do?
-perform dental extractions
-cauterise wounds
-set broken bones
-bloodletting
-amputating
what was trepanning?
drilling a hole through the skull, sometimes to release evil spirits
why did the church have so much control over education?
-monks were the only ones who knew how to write- could selectively publish texts
-people feared prospect of hell
-physicians trained under church
-power extended across country (each village had a priest and each region a bishop)
-wealthy- people payed 1/10th of earnings to church (tithes)
why did the church have so much control over education?
-monks were the only ones who knew how to write- could selectively publish texts
-people feared prospect of hell
-physicians trained under church
-power extended across country (each village had a priest and each region a bishop)
which king demanded the streets to be cleaned in 1349?
king edward iii- ordered ‘filth lying in the streets [to be] removed’
list some methods of treatment that were based on religious causes
-prayer
-visiting shrines
-fasting
-pilgrimages
what were butchers banned from doing to prevent spread of disease?
throwing animal parts into the streets
what was one of the main differences between medieval and modern hospitals?
the care medieval hospitals provided was almost wholly palliative. warmth and food were provided, and as it was run by monks and nuns, spiritual welfare was a priority
what did physicians do?
-prescribe treatments and bloodletting
-consult urine charts for diagnosis
whose work did physicians study?
the work of hippocrates and galen, along with arabic doctors like ibn sina and al-razi
when did the black death arrive in england?
1348
roughly what percentage of europe was killed by the black death?
between 30-60%
what percentage of hospitals actually cared for the sick
10
list 5 factors affecting progress in the middle ages
-the church
-the government
-education
-individuals
-attitudes
what was an example of government/monarchy intervention during the black death
quarantine measures were imposed
what was one reason why government intervention proved ineffective in terms of public health
they only took action during a crisis as opposed to implementing preventative measures
how could medieval attitudes be described
highly traditional- there was little desire for change and people placed their utmost trust in the knowledge of the ancients
why did the church set up hospitals
caring for the sick was an important part of christianity
how many of the medieval hospitals were almshouses
about half
what was a positive aspect of medieval hospitals
they had high hygiene standards
how many hospitals were there by 1500
1100
what percentage of hospitals were leper hospitals
31%
what percentage of hospitals helped pilgrims and travellers
12%
how did towns and councils attempt to prevent the spread of the black death
latrines were built and fines were issued for littering and polluting water
