Medieval Medicine Flashcards
who was hippocrates? (4)
- lived in ancient greece
- treated the body as a whole rather than individual parts
- developed the theory of the four humours
- believed in observing patients and noting down their symptoms
how long was hippocrates alive for?
alive from 460 - 370 BC
who was galen? (4)
- lived in the roman empire
- dissected animals to develop a greater understanding of the human body
- proved that the brain controlled the body rather than the heart
- ideas were supported by the church
how long was galen alive for?
alive from 130 - 210 AD
what were christianity’s views on medicine? (5)
- believed that God sent illness as a punishment for people’s sins
- praying was the most important treatment
- care not cure because curing would be challenging God’s punishments
- miraculous healing; people would pilgrimage to shrines filled with relics of the bones, hair and other body parts of a holy person
- you could not challenge galen’s ideas
who was al-razi? (3)
- he stressed the need for the careful observation of the patient
- distinguished measles from smallpox for the first time
- although he was a follower of galen, he believed that students should improve on the work of their teacher
what was al-razi known as?
rhazes
what book did al-razi write?
how many did he write all together?
- ‘DOUBTS ABOUT GALEN’
- he wrote 150 books in total
who was ibn sina?
- wrote the canon of medicine
what was the canon of medicine?
covered the whole of ancient greek and Islamic medical knowledge at the time
- listed the medical properties of 760 drugs
- contained chapters on medical problems such as anorexia and obesity
- became the standard european medical textbook used to teach doctors in the west until the seventeenth century
what were islamic hospitals first set up for?
people with mental illnesses
what happened with hospitals in 805?
- caliph al-rashid set up a major new hospital in baghdad with a medical school and a library
- it was intended to treat the patients and not simply care for them
what were bimaristans?
they were built to provide medical care for everyone and anyone
what was the zodiac chart for?
it told the physician which parts of the body are connected to which astrological sign and then told them what to do with the patient
what was the urine chart for?
the physician would look at the colour and compare it to the chart; he might smell it and sometimes taste it to help him decide what was wrong with the patient
