Medieval medicine Flashcards
What was the theory of what caused illness put forward by Hippocrates?
The four humours
Thought got sick if one humours out of balance (black bile, yellow blile, blood, phlegm)
Every doctor had a chart to show which illnesses were caused by which humour to be used alongside a zodiac chart
What were beliefs about how the supernatural caused illness in the medieval period?
Disease caused by magic elves or spirits
Witches caused illness/ curses
The zodiac/ stars determine when best time to treat diseases and pick remedies
What was miasma?
The belief that bad smells and air caused and spread disease. As mortality was higher in cramped filthy smelly towns ( you could smell a town before seeing it) this has some logic
What role was god said to have in the cause of disease?
Disease is god’s way of punishing people for sins and reminding them to live a decent life
The way to cure disease is to pray and show devotion to god
How did everyday life lead to disease / illnesses
Warfare and famine were common
Childbirth very dangerous for women
Most children die before age 7
Hygiene low ( children play in Plies of animal poo and streets and access to clean water limited)
what was a vademecum?
a book of diagnostics doctors used that combined supernatural and natural theories about cause and cure of disease.
what could be found in the vademecum
a urine chart
a zodiac chart and man
blood letting man
and a wound man
how was a urine chart used?
used the colour smell taste of urine to see if patience’s humours were out of balance and diagnose illness
how was a zodiac chart/ man used
tells wich part of the body was linked to wich zodiac sign
to say the best time of the year to treat it how the movements of the sun and moon and planets affect people’s bodies
how was a blood letting man used?
showed all the places that doctors could cut patients to let blood/ balance humours to cure disease
how was a wound man used?
told them how to trat battlefield wounds
how was bleeding used as a treatment and how affective was it ?
it was used as a cure and prevention
people bled regularly with knifes or leeches to balance their humours
could make patient more ill / weaken person and remove anti-bodies that fight disease
get infections from wounds
how was purging used as a treatment for disease
again used to balance patience humours
either given them to throw up or go to the loo
it would dehydrate them and make their illness worse most times
how were herbal remedies used as treatment
wise women owned books called herbals with picture of ingredients and recipies for cures as well as paryers to recite when collecting herbs to make them more effective
fancy physicians may get spices from the middle east and big houses might have gardens ‘herb and physic’ gardens
how did religion work as a treatment for disease?
if you were ill its a punishment by god so the best way to cure it was to pray or go on pilgrimage or punish yourself so god won’t punish you
